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ANCIENT  ROME  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  RECENT 
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ing several  Heliotypes)  and  64  Text  Illustrations, 
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dolfo  Lanciani.  With  Map,  Plans,  etc.  4to,  paper, 
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THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  ANCIENT 
ROME.     Profusely  Illustrated.    Crown  Svo,  Ji54. 00. 

HOUGHTON,   MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
Boston  and  New  York. 


THE   RUINS  AND    EXCAVATIONS 


ANCIENT  ROME 


Flg,l. 

HYDRO GRAPH V     & 

CHOROGRAPHY 

OF  ANCIENT  ROM& 

Scale  I:  mO(W 
.  lllitiide,s  in  me^erS 


Ji.J,anciant.  de^ 


•  SALARIA    ^ 

'tP  NOME  NT 


THE 

RUINS  AND   EXCAVATIONS 

OF 

ANCIENT  ROME 

A  COMPANION   BOOK   FOR   STUDENTS 
AND   TRAVELERS 


RODOLFO    LANCIANI 

D.  C.  L.  Oxford,  LL.  D.  Harvard. 

PROFESSOR  OF  ANCIENT  TOPOGRAPHY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ROME 

AUTHOR  OF  "ancient  ROME  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  RECENT  DISCOVERIES,"'  "  PAGAN 

AND  CHRISTIAN  ROME,"'  "  FORMA  URBIS  ROMAE,"  ETC. 


...   Si  quid  novlsti  rectius  istis, 
candidus  imperil :  si  non,  his  utere  mecum. 
Horace,  Epistles,  i.    6.    67. 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY 

(Hbe  Wtcrsibc  l^rcss,  CambtiDfle 

1897 


COPYRIGHT,    1897,    BY    RODOLFO    LANCIANI    AND    HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN    AND   CO. 
ALL   RIGHTS    RESERVED 


PEEFACE 


In  writing  the  present  volume  the  author  does  not  intend  to 
publish  a  complete  manual  of  Roman  Topography,  but  only  a 
companion-book  for  students  and  travelers  who  visit  the  existing 
remains  and  study  the  latest  excavations  of  ancient  Rome.  The 
text,  therefore,  has  been  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  both 
classes  of  readers.  Students  wishing  to  attain  a  higher  degree  of 
efficiency  in  this  branch  of  Roman  archeology  will  find  copious 
references  to  the  standard  publications  on  each  subject  or  part  of 
a  subject ;  while  the  description  of  ruins  and  excavations  will  not 
be  found  too  technical  or  one-sided  for  the  ordinary  reader. 
Special  attention  has  been  paid  to  tracing  back  to  their  place  of 
origin  the  spoils  of  each  monument,  now  dispersed  in  the  museums 
of  Rome,  Italy,  and  the  rest  of  Europe.  The  reader,  being  in- 
formed what  these  spoils  are,  when  they  were  carried  away,  and 
where  they  are  to  be  found  at  present,  will  be  able  to  form  a  more 
correct  idea  of  the  former  aspect  of  Roman  monuments  than 
would  otherwise  be  possible.  The  volume  also  contains  some 
tables,  which  will  be  found  useful  for  quick  and  easy  reference 
to  the  chronology  of  buildings,  to  events  in  the  history  of  the 
city,  and  to  the  various  aspects  of  Roman  civilization.  It  may 
be  observed,  in  the  last  place,  that  the  illustrations  of  the  text 
are  mostly  original,  from  drawings  and  photographs  prepared 
expressly  for  this  work. 

The  publications  of  the  author  to  which  reference  is  constantly 
made  are  :  — 

Ancient  Rome  in  the  Lif/ht  of  Recent  Discoveries.  Boston,  1889,  Houghton, 
MifBin,  &  Co.  London,  Macmillan.  —  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome.  Boston 
and  London,  1893.  —  Forma  Urbis  Romce,  an  archaeological  map  of  the  city,  in 
forty-six  sheets,  scale  1 :  1000,  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal 
Academy  dei  Lincei,  by  Hoepli,  Milan.     Twenty-four  sheets  already  issued. 


vi  PREFACE 

The  remains  of  ancient  Rome  can  be  studied  in  books  or  on  the 
spot  from  three  points  of  view,  —  tlie  chronological,  the  topographi- 
cal, and  the  architectural.  The  chronological  brings  the  student 
into  contact,  first,  with  the  remains  of  the  Kingly  period,  then 
with  those  of  the  Republic,  of  the  Empire,  of  the  Byzantine  and 
Mediaeval  periods.  The  topographical  takes  into  consideration, 
first,  the  main  lines  of  the  ancient  city,  and  then  each  of  the  four- 
teen wards  or  regions  into  which  Rome  was  divided  by  Augustus. 
The  architectural  groups  the  monuments  in  classes,  like  temples, 
baths,  tombs,  bridges,  etc. 

Each  system  has  its  own  advantages,  and  claims  representative 
writers.  The  chronological  order  helps  us  to  follow  the  progress 
of  Roman  architecture,  from  the  rude  attempts  of  Etruscan 
masons  to  the  golden  centuries  of  Agrippa  and  Apollodorus ;  as 
well  as  the  evolution  of  architectural  tyj^es,  from  the  round  straw 
hut  where  the  public  fire  was  kept  to  the  marble  temple  of  Hestia, 
roofed  with  tiles  of  bronze ;  from  the  Casa  Romuli  to  the  Domus 
Aurea  of  Nero. 

Dyer's  History  of  Rome  is  founded  mainly  on  this  system. 
Compare  also  chapters  iii.  and  iv.  (pp.  24—59)  of  Richter's  Topo- 
(frapJiie,  Parker's  Chronological  Tables,  and  Lanciani's  Vicende 
edilizie  di  Roma,^ 

The  topographical  system,  which  divides  the  city  into  regions 
and  suburbs,  is  represented  by  Nardini  and  Canina.^  They  de- 
scribe first  the  fundamental  lines,  —  site,  geology,  climate,  hydro- 
graphy, the  seven  hills,  the  Kingly  and  Imperial  walls,  the  Tiber, 
the  aqueducts,  the  military  roads  radiating  from  the  gates ;  and 

1  Thomas  H.  Dyer,  A  History  of  the  City  of  Rome :  Its  Structures  and 
Monuments.  London,  Longmans,  1865.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Sidle  ricende 
edilizie  di  Roma,  reprinted  from  the  Monograjia  archeologica  e  statistica  di 
Roma  e  camparpia.  Rome.  Tipogr.  elzevir.  1878. — John  Henry  Parker,  A 
Chronological  Table  of  Buildings  in  Rome,  with  the  Chief  Contemporary 
Events,  and  an  Alphabetical  Index,  reprinted  from  the  Ai-chceology  of  Rome.  — 
Otto  Richter,  Topographic  der  Stadt  Rom.  Sep.-Abdr.  aus  dem  Handbuch  der 
klassischen  Alterthumwissenschaft,  Bd.  iii.  Nordlingen,  Beck,  1889,  ch.  iii., 
"Entwickhingsgeschichte,"  and  ch.  iv.,  "  Zerstorungsgeschichte  der  Stadt." 

2  Famiano  Nardini,  Roma  antica  di  Famiano  Nardini,  fourth  edition, 
revised  by  Antonio  Nibbj',  and  illustrated  by  Antonio  de  Romanis.  Rome, 
de  Romanis,  1818  (four  vols.).  —  Luigi  Canina,  Indicazione  topografica  di 
Roma  antica,  fourth  edition.     Rome,  Canina,  1850. 


PREFACE  vii 

then  the  monuments  pertaining  to  the  fourteen  regions.  Their 
accounts  are  founded  mainly  on  otficial  statistics  of  the  fourtli 
century,  of  which  we  possess  two  editions  (Redaktionen).  The 
first,  known  by  the  name  of  Notitia  regionum  urbis  Romce  cum 
hreviariis  suis,  dates  from  a.  d.  334 ;  the  second,  called  Curiosum 
urbis  Romce  regionum  XIV  cum  breviariis  suis,  must  have  been 
issued  in  or  after  357,  because  it  mentions  the  obelisk  raised  in 
that  year  in  the  Circus  Maximus. 

Literature.  —  Ludwig  Preller,  Die  Regionen  der  Stadt  Rom.  Jena,  1846.  — 
Theodor  Mommsen,  Abhandhmgen  der  sacks.  Ges.  d.  W.,  ii.  549;  iii.  269; 
viii.  694.  —  Heinrieh  Jordan,  Topographic  d.  Stadt  Rom  in  AUerthum.,  Berlin, 
1871,  vol.  ii.  p.  1.  —  Ignazio  Guidi,  11  testo  sirtaco  della  descrizione  di  Roma, 
in  Bull,  com.,  1884,  p.  218. — Christian  Huelsen,  //  posto  degli  Arvali  nel 
Colosseo,  in  Bull,  com.,  1894,  p.  .312.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Le  quattordici 
regioni  urbane,  in  Bull,  com.,  1890,  p.  11.5. 

The  two  documents  give  the  number  and  name  of  each  region, 
the  names  of  edifices  or  streets  which  marked  approximately 
its  boundary  line,  the  number  of  parLslies  (vici),  of  parish  magis- 
trates (vico  magistri),  the  number  of  tenement  houses  (insulce), 
palaces  (dotnus),  public  warehouses  (Jwrrea),  baths,  fountains, 
bakeries,  and  the  circumference  of  each  regio  in  feet.  For  in- 
stance :  — 

"  Regio  V,  tlie  Esquilise,  contains :  the  fountain  of  Orpheus, 
the  market  of  Livia,  the  nymphseum  of  (Severus)  Alexander,  the 
(barracks  of  the)  .second  cohort  of  policemen  (firemen),  the  gar- 
dens of  Pallans,  the  (street  named  from  the)  Hercules  Sullanus, 
the  Amphitheatrum  Castrense,  the  campus  on  the  Viminal,  the 
(street  called)  Subager,  the  (street  called)  Minerva  Medica,  the 
(.street  named  from)  Isis  the  patrician.  The  Esquilise  contain 
15  parishes,  15  street-shrines,  48  parish  officials  and  two  liigher 
officials  (curatores),  3,8.50  tenement  houses,  180  palaces,  22  public 
warehouses,  25  baths,  74  fountains,  15  bakeries.  The  Esquiliae 
measure  15,600  feet  in  circumference." 

Comparing  these  statistics  with  texts  of  classics,  inscriptions, 
existing  remains,  accounts  of  former  discoveries,  plans  and  draw- 
ings of  the  artists  of  the  Renaissance,  and  other  sources  of  infor- 
mation, we  are  able  to  reconstruct,  with  surprising  results,  the 
topography  of  the  whole  city. 


Vlll  PREFACE 

The  system,  therefore,  is  highly  commendable,  and  I  follow 
it  myself,  in  my  university  course  of  lectures,  as  the  one  best 
calculated,  from  its  simplicity  and  clearness,  to  make  the  student 
conversant  with  this  branch  of  Roman  archaeology. 

The  third,  or  architectural,  system  takes  each  class  of  build- 
ings separately,  and  groups  temples,  theatres,  fora,  baths,  etc., 
by  themselves,  irrespective  of  their  position  and  their  relation 
to  other  buildings.  It  might  be  compared  with  the  study  of  a 
museum,  like  the  Museo  Nazionale  of  Naples,  in  which  statues 
are  arranged  by  subjects,  one  room  containing  only  Venuses, 
another  only  Fauns,  etc.  The  system  facilitates  the  comparison 
of  types  and  schools,  and  the  study  of  the  origin,  progress,  and 
decline  of  art  among  the  Romans. 

The  representative  works  of  this  kind  are  Nibby's  Roma  nelV 
anno  1838,  and  Canina's  Edifizii  di  R.  A.'^ 

It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  a  system  which  may  be  use- 
ful for  university  work,  and  for  a  limited  number  of  specialists, 
cannot  also  suit  the  student  or  the  traveler  who  does  not  visit 
our  ruins  by  regions,  but  according  to  the  main  centres  of  inter- 
est and  of  actual  excavations.  Were  we  to  follow  the  architectu- 
ral system  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  we  should  be  compelled 
to  study  the  Forum  with  no  regard  to  the  temples,  basilicas,  and 
triumphal  arches  which  lined  its  border  or  covered  its  area, 
because  they  belong  to  another  class  of  structures.  Suppose, 
again,  we  were  bound  to  proceed  in  our  study  strictly  by  regions  : 
we  should  be  compelled  to  separate  the  Coliseum  from  its  accessory 
buildings,  in  which  gladiators,  athletes,  wild  beasts,  and  their 
hunters  were  quartered,  fed,  and  trained ;  from  the  armories,  in 
which  gladiatorial  and  hunting  weapons  were  made,  kept,  and 
repaired ;  from  the  barracks  of  the  marines  of  the  fleet  of  Ra- 
venna and  Misenum,  to  whom  the  manoeuvring  of  the  velaria 
was  intrusted ;  from  the  "  morgue,"  whither  the  spoils  of  the 
slain  in  the  arena  were  temporarily  removed,  —  simply  because 
the   samiarium,    spoliarlum,    and  armamentarium    belonged   to  the 

1  Antonio  Nibbj',  Roma  neW  anno  mdcccxxxviii.  Parte  prima  antica,  vols. 
i.,  ii.  Rome,  1838.  —  Luigi  Canina,  Gli  tdijizi  di  R.  A.  e  sua  campagna/in 
six  folio  volumes.     Rome,  1847-1854. 


PREFACE  IX 

second  regio  ;  the  amphitheatre  itself,  the  Caslra  Misenatium,  the 
Summum  Choragium  to  the  third;  the  Ampliitheatrum  Castrense  to 
the  fifth  ;  the  virarium  to  the  sixth. 

To  avoid  these  difficulties,  the  compilers  of  the  Beschreihung, 
as  well  as  Becker,  Bum,  Jordan,  Richter,  Gilbert,  Middleton,  and 
others,^  have  adopted  a  mixed  system,  taking  the  best  from  each 
of  the  three  methods  described  above.  They  have  divided  and 
described  the  city  in  large  sections,  more  or  less  connected  by 
topographical  or  historical  relationship.  Richter,  for  instance, 
cuts  ancient  Rome  in  four  parts  :  "  das  Zentrura,"  which  embraces 
the  Palatine  and  Capitoline  hills,  the  Velia,  the  Circus  Maximus, 
and  the  great  Fora  of  the  Empire ;  "  die  Stadttheile  am  Tiber," 
which  comprises  the  Aventine,  the  market,  the  Campus  ^lartius, 
and  the  transtiberine  quarters  ;  "  der  sUdosten  Roms,"  made  up 
of  the  Caelian  and  of  the  suburbs  on  the  Appian  Way  ;  and  lastly 
"  der  osten  Roms,"  with  the  Esquiline,  Viminal,  Quirinal,  and 
Pincian  hills.  Richter's  scheme  is  plainly  arbitrary,  and  might 
be  varied  ad  libitum  without  interfering  with  the  spirit  or  dimin- 
ishing the  importance  of  liis  work.  The  same  criticism  applies 
to  the  other  manuals  of  the  same  type. 

Considering  that  "  facile  est  inventis  addere,"  and  that  the 
exi>erience  of  others  must  teach  us  how  to  find  a  better  solution 
of  the  problem,  I  propose  to  adopt  the  following  scheme  :  — 

In  Book  I.  the  fundamental  lines  of  Roman  topography  will  be 
described,  —  site,  geology,  configuration  of  soil,  malaria,  climate, 
rivers  and  springs,  aqueducts  and  drains,  walls  and  roads. 

The  Palatine  hill,  on  which  the  city  was  founded  and  the  seat 
of  the  Empire  established  in  progress  of  time,  will  be  visited 
next  (Book  II.). 

In  Book  III.  a  description  of  the  Sacra  Via  will  be  given,  from 

its  origin  near  the  Coliseum  to  its  end  near  the  Capitolium.     The 

1  Platner,  Bunsen,  Gerhard,  Rostell,  Urlichs,  Beschreihung  der  Stadt  Rom. 
Stuttgart,  1830-1842. —  Adolf  Becker,  Hnndburk  der  Riimischen  Alierthumer. 
Erster  Theil.  Leipzig,  1843. — Robert  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagnn,  Lon- 
don, 1871;  0/rf /?((/» p,  1880.  Second  edition,  1895.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Topo- 
graphie  der  Stadt  Rom  in  Alterthum,  voL  i.,  i.2,  ii.  Berlin,  1871. —  Otto 
Gilbert,  Geschichte  und  Topographie  der  Stadt  Rom.  1883-1885.  —  Otto  Rich- 
ter, Topograph ie  drr  Stadt  Rom.  Nurdlingen,  1S89. — T.  Henry  Middleton, 
The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome.     Two  vols.     London,  1892. 


X  PREFACE 

Sacra  Via,  the  Forum  (with  its  extensions),  and  the  Capitoline 
hill  contain  the  oldest  relics  of  Kingly  and  Republican  Rome. 
They  are  lined  or  covei'ed  by  the  grandest  monuments  of  the 
Empire  ;  they  have  been  largely  if  not  completely  excavated  since 
1870 ;  and  every  inch  of  ground  they  cross  or  cover  is  connected 
with  historical  events.  Beginning,  therefore,  from  such  centres 
of  interest  as  the  Palatine  and  the  Sacra  Via,  we  follow  the 
chronological  and  topographical  systems. 

The  rest  of  the  city  will  be  described  in  Book  IV.  by  the 
regions  of  Augustus  in  the  following  order  :  — 

1.  The  ruins  of  the  Cselian  hill  and  its  watershed  towards  the 
river  Almo  (Regions  I  and  II). 

2.  The  ruins  of  the  Oppian  (Regio  III). 

3.  The  Viminal,  the  Cespiau,  the  Subura,  and  the  Vicus  Patri- 
cii  (Regio  IV). 

4.  The  Esquiline  (Regio  V). 

5.  The  Quirinal  and  the  Pincian,  and  their  watershed  towards 
the  Tiber  (Regions  VI  and  VII). 

6.  The  Campus  Martins  (Regio  IX). 

7.  The  markets,  the  docks,  the  warehouses,  the  harbor  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river. 

8.  The  Circus  Maximus  (Regio  XI). 

9.  The  Aventine  (Regions  XII  and  XIII). 

10.  The  Trastevere  (Regio  XIV). 

Each  of  these  sections  has  a  characteristic  of  its  own.  The 
Cselian  may  be  called  the  region  of  barracks,  the  Esquiline  the 
region  of  parks,  the  Quirinal  and  Aventine  the  abode  of  the  aris- 
tocracy. The  Coliseum  and  its  dependencies  occupied  the  greater 
portion  of  the  Oppian.  The  Trastevere  was  the  popular  quarter 
par  excellence.  Their  description,  therefore,  from  a  topographical 
point  of  view,  is  not  only  rational  but  lends  itself  to  the  grouping 
of  edifices  built  for  the  same  object,  and  sometimes  by  the  same 
man  and  at  the  same  time. 

At  all  events,  as  it  may  suit  the  reader  to  study  the  monuments 
in  a  different  order,  I  have  added  two  indexes,  in  the  first  of 
which  the  existing  remains  of  Ancient  Rome  are  named  alpha- 
betically in  architectural  groups,  and  in  the  second  according  to 


PREFACE  XI 

their  chronology.  The  name  of  each  is  followed  by  the  number 
of  the  page  or  section  in  which  it  is  described. 

Before  closing  this  brief  preface,  I  must  warn  students  against 
a  tendency  which  is  occasionally  observable  in  books  and  papers 
on  the  topography  of  Rome,  —  that  of  upsetting  and  condemning 
all  received  notions  on  the  subject,  in  order  to  substitute  fanciful 
theories  of  a  new  type.  They  nuist  remember  that  the  study  of 
this  fascinating  subject  began  with  Poggio  Bracciolini  and  Flavio 
Biondo  early  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  that  in  the  course  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  years  it  must  have  been  very  closely  inves- 
tigated. In  the  preface  to  the  Indicazione  topograjica,  pp.  4-25 
(1850),  Canina  registers  124  standard  authorities,  whose  books 
would  make  a  library  of  a  thousand  volumes.  Since  18.50  the 
number  of  such  volumes  has  doubled.  See  in  Enrico  Narducci's 
lilhUografia  topograjica  di  Roma  a  list  (imperfect)  of  those  pub- 
lished between  1850  and  1880.  The  same  bibliographer  has  given 
us  a  list  (also  imperfect)  of  over  400  works  on  the  Tiber  alone.^ 
In  the  fourteenth  volume  of  the  Arckivio  della  Socieia  rnmana 
di  storia  patria,  424  publications  on  the  history  and  topography 
of  the  city  are  catalogued  for  1891  alone.  How  is  it  possible 
that,  in  four  hundred  and  fifty  years'  time,  the  antiquaries  of  the 
Italian,  (iernuin,  and  English  schools,  working  harmoniously, 
should  not  have  discovered  the  truth?  This  does  not  exclude 
the  possibility  that  new  researches,  either  on  the  ground  or  in 
libraries  and  archives,  may  reveal  new  data  and  enal)le  the 
student  to  perfect  the  system  of  Roman  topography  in  its  details, 
but  great  innovations  are  hardly  to  be  expected.  Yet  there 
are  people  willing  to  try  the  experiment,  only  to  waste  their 
own  time  and  make  us  lose  ours  in  considering  their  attempts. 
Temples  of  the  gods  are  cast  away  from  their  august  seats,  and 
relegated  to  places  never  heard  of  before  ;  gates  of  the  city  are 
swept  away  in  a  whiiiwind  till  they  fly  before  our  eyes  like  one  of 
Dante's  visions  ;  diminutive  ruins  are  magnified  into  the  remains 
of  great  historical  buildings  ;  designs  are  produced  of  monuments 
which  have  never  existed.  Let  each  of  us  be  satisfied  with  a 
modest   share   in  the  work  of  reconstruction  of  the  great  city, 

1  Sarjrjio  di  bibllograjia  del  Tevere  di  Enrico  Narducci,  Rome,  Civelli,  1876. 


XU  PREFACE 

remembering  that  both  the  Roma  sotterranea  Cristiana  and  Rome 
the  capital  of  the  Empire  have  long  since  found  their  Columbus. 

The  periodicals  and  books  most  frequently  quoted  in  this  work 
are :  — 

(Bull,  com.)  BulleUino  della  Commissione  archeologica  comunale  di  Roma, 
1872-1895.  23  vols.,  superbly  illustrated.  —  (Not.  Scavi)  Notizie  der/li  Scavi 
di  anticMta pubblicate  per  cura  della  r.  accadeviia  dei  Lincei,  1876-1895.  20 
vols.,  illustrated.  —  (Bull.  Inst.)  BulleUino  dell'  Istituto  di  corrispondenza 
archeoloyica,  1829-1885.  57  vols.  —  (Ann.  Inst.)  Annali  dell'  Istituto  di 
corrispondenza  archeologica,  1829-1885.  54  vols.  —  (Mittheil.)  Mittheilungen 
des  kaiserlich  Deutschen  archaeol.  Instituts,  Roemische  Abtheilung,  1886-1895. 
10  vols.,  illustrated.  —  (.Tahrbuch)  Jahrhuch  des  k.  D.  archaeol.  Instituts, 
1886-1895.  10  vols.,  illustrated  (Denkmaler).  —  (F.  U.  R.)  Forma  Urbis 
Romm,  consilio  et  auctoritate  R.  Academiw  Lyncceorum  .  .  .  edidit  Rodul- 
phns  Lanciani  Romamis,  in  46  sheets.—  (C.  I.  L.)  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Lati- 
narum,  vols,  i.,  vi.  1,  2,  3,  4,  xiv.,  and  xv.  1. 


CONTENTS 

Book  I.  —  General  Information 

PAGE 

I.  Site  —  Geology  —  Configuration  of  Soil 1 

II.  Geologj' 5 

III.  Malaria 6 

IV.  Climate 8 

V.   Hydrography  —  Rivers,  Springs,  Ponds,  Marshes          .        .  '.) 

VI.   Bridges 16 

VII.   Traiectus  (ferries) 2fi 

VIII.    Objects  of  Value  in  the  Bed  of  the  River 2<) 

IX.   CloaciP  (drains) 28 

X.   The  Quarries  from  which  Rome  was  built .32 

(a)  Tufa  (lapis  ruber) .32 

(b)  Pepcrino  (lapis  Albanus) 34 

(c)  Travertino  (lapis  Tiburtinus) 3.5 

(d)  Silex  (selce) ,38 

XI.   Bricks 38 

XII.   ]\Iarbles 42 

XIII.  Methods  of  Construction 43 

XIV.  Aqueducts 47 

XV.   Muri  Urbis  (the  Walls) 59 

XVI.   Murus  Romuli  (Walls  of  the  Palatine) 59 

XVII.   Other  Walls  of  the  Kingly  Period 60 

XVIII.  The  Walls  of  Servius  TuUius 60 

XIX.   Walls  of  Aurelian  and  Probus,  a.  d.  272          ....  66 

XX.   Restoration  of  the  Walls  by  Honorius 72 

XXI.   Gates  of  Aurelian  and  Honorius 73 

XXII.   Walls  of  Leo  IV.,  Leopolis,  .lohannipolis,  Laurentiopolis         .  80 

XXIII.  The  Fortifications  of  Paul  III.,  Pius  IV.,  and  Urban  VIII.  .  84 

XXIV.  Modern  Fortifications 86 

XXV.   The  Fourteen  Regions  of  Augustus 87 

XXVI.   The  Population  of  Ancient  Rome 91 

XXVII.   The   Map  of  Rome   engraved  on   Marble   under   Severus  and 

Caracalla 94 

XXVIII.  The  Burial  of  Rome .98 

Book  II.  —  The  Ruins  and  Excavations  of  the  Palatine 

I.   Hints  to  Visitors 106 

II.  The  Origin  of  the  Palatine  City 110 

III.  Vigna  Nusiner 118 


xiv  CONTENTS 

IV.  Templum  divi  Augusti  (Temple  of  Augustus)          .        .         .       121 

V.   Fons  Juturnae  (the  Springs  of  Juturna) 123 

VI.   The  Clivus  Victoriae 125 

VII.   The  Church  of  S.  Teodoro 126 

VIII.   Murus  Romuli 126 

IX.   The  Altar  of  Aius  Locutius 127 

X.   ScalfB  Caci  (steps  of  Cacius) 129 

XI.   Casa  Romuli  (the  Hut  of  Romulus) 1-30 

XII.   The  Old  Stone  Quarries 131 

XIII.  iEdes  Magna-  Deum  Matris  (Temple  of  Cybele)  ....  132 

XIV.  .(Edes  lovis  Propugnatoris  in  Palatio  (Temple  of  Jupiter   Pro- 

piignator) 135 

XV.    Domus  Augustana  (House  of  Augustus) 138 

XVI.   Domus  Tiberiana  (House  of  Tiberius) 144 

XVII.   House  of  Germanicus 147 

XVIII.  Domus  Gaiana  (House  of  Caligula)          .....       150 

XIX.   The  Palace  of  Domitian 155 

XX.  The  Gardens  of  Adonis  (Horti  Adonsa  —  Vigna  Barberini)  .       165 

XXI.   MediaBval  Church  Buildings 168 

(a)  Ecclesia  S.  Caesarii  in  Palatio 169 

(b)  Monasterium  quod  Palladium  dicitur       ....  170 

(c)  The  Turris  Chartularia 171 

XXII.   The  so-called  Stadium  (Xystus) 172 

XXIII.  The  Palace  of  Septimius  Severus  (fedes  Severiaute)        .         .       178 

XXIV.  The  Septizonium 181 

XXV.  The  Water  Supply  and  Reservoirs  of  the  Palace     .         .         .184 

XXVI.  The  P.edagogium  and  the  Domus  Gelotiana        ....  185 


Book    III.  —  A  Walk  through    the    Sacra   Via  from   the 
Coliseum  to  the  Capitoline  Hill 

I.  The  Sacra  Via 188 

II.  The  Colossus  (colossal  statue  of  the  Sun)         ....  190 

III.  Meta  Sudans 190 

IV.  The  Arch  of  Constantine 191 

V.  iEdes  Romae  et  Veneris  (Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome)        .       194 

VI.  Baths  of  Heliogabalus    (?).     See  Ecclesia  S.  Cresarii  in  Pa- 
latio, 169        .  198 

VII.  Turris  Chartularia  198 

VIII.  The  Temple  of  .Jupiter  Stator 198 

IX.  The  Arch  of  Titus 199 

X.  Basilica  Nova  (Basilica  of  Constantine)  ....  201 

XI.  The  Clivus  Sacer 206 

XII.  Porticus  Margaritaria 207 

XIII.  The    Hereon   Romuli    (Temple   of   Romulus,  son  of  Maxen- 

tius) 209 

XIV.  Templum  Sacra?  Urbis  (archives  of  the  Cadastre)   .         .         .  211 
XV.    Fornix  Fabianus  (Arch  of  Q.  Fabius  Allobrogicus)      .         .       215 


CONTEXTS 


XVI.  ^Edes  divi  Pii  et  diva-  Faustin*  (Temple  of  Antoninus  and 

Faustina) 

XVII.  The  Kegia 

XVIII.  The  Temple  of  Vesta 

XIX.  The  Shrine 

XX.  Atrium  Vestaj  (House  of  the  Vestals)  . 

XXI.  Forum  Romanum  Magnum        ..... 

XXII.  Area  of  the  Forum 

XXIII.  Columna  liostrata 

XXIV.  The  Sculptured  Plutei 

XXV.  Monumental  Columns  on  the  Saera  Via   . 

XXVI.  The  Caballus  Constantini  (Eciuestriau  Statue  of  Constautine) 

XXVII.  Unknown  Building  on  the  east  side,  opposite  the  Temple  o 

.Julius  .         ■ 

XXVIII.  Monuments  of  the  Gothic  and  (iildonie  Wars  . 

XXIX,  The  ('niumn  of  I'hocas 

XXX.  Curia  Hostilia  —  Curia  .lulia  —  Senatus    . 

XXXI.  The  Comitium 

XXXII.  yEdes  divi  lulii  (Temple  of  .lulius  Ca-sar) 

XXXIII.  Triumphal  Arch  of  Augustus 

XXXIV.  iEdes  Castorum  (Temple  of  Castor  and  I'oUux) 
XXXV.  Vicus  Tuscus 

XXXVI.  Basilica  .lulia 

XXXVII.  Vicus  Jugarius        ........ 

XXXVIII.  The  Rostra  Vetera 

XXXIX.  Genius  I'opuli  Romani  — Milliarium  Aureum  —  Umhilic 

XL.  The  Church  of  SS.  Scrgius  and  Bacchus 

XLI.  The  Arch  of  Tiherius 

XLII.  The  Arch  of  Sc|)timius  Severus        .... 

XLIII.  The  Career  Tullianum    ....... 

XLIV.  ^'Edes  Concordia-  (Temple  of  Concord)     . 

XLV.  The  Clivus  Capitolinus 

XLVI.  Temple  of  Vespasian 

XLVII.  yEdes  Saturni  (Temple  of  Saturn) 

XLVIII.  Porticus  Deorum  Consentium  (Portico  of  the  Twelve  Gods) 

XLIX.  Tabularium    .......... 

L.  C!apitolium  (Temple  of  .Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus) 

LI.  Forum  .Juliuni         ......... 

LII.  Forum  Augustum       ........ 

LIII.  Forum  Transitorium       ........ 

LIV.  Forum  Traiani    ......... 


216 

219 
221 
221 
22(i 
232 
251 
251 
251 
258 
2.58 


25U 
25!) 
260 
262 
266 
2t!7 
26!J 
26!) 
273 
27.3 


278 
270 
280 
282 
282 
285 
286 
288 
288 
291 
292 
2'.y.i 
296 
•■500 
;j()2 
.307 
.311 


Book   IV.  —  Urbs  Sacra  Regionum  XIV 

I.  The  Ruins  of  the  Cadian  Hill,  Regio  I,  Porta  Capena  .         .      320 

II.  Hypog:cum  Scipionum      ........  321 

III.  The  Columbaria  (so-called)  of  Pomponius  Ilj-las         .         .       327 

rV.  The  Columbaria  of  the  Vigna  Codini 328 

V.  Regio  II,  Cadimontium  (the  Cadian  Hill)     ....       335 


CONTENTS 


VI.    The  Castra  Cielimontaiia  .... 

(a)  The  Castra  Ecjuitiun  Siugularium 

(b)  The  Castra  Peregrinuriim 

(c)  Statio  Cohortis  V  Vigilum 
VII.    The  Pahices  of  the  Cielian 

(a)  Domus  Lateranuruni  (Lateral!  Palaee) 

(b)  Domus  Vectiliana  .... 

(c)  Domus  Tetricorum      .         . 

(d)  Domus  Valeriorum 

(e)  Domus  Philippi  .... 

(f)  Domus  L.  Marii  Maximi 

(g)  Domus  of  the  Symmachi  . 
(h)   The  House  of  SS.  Joliii  and  Paul 
( I )   The  House  of  Gregory  the  Great 

VIII.   Claudium  (Temple  of  Claudius) 
IX.   Macellum  (S.  Stefauo  Rotondo)     . 
X.    The  Ruins  of  the  Oppiau,  Regio  III,  Isis  et  Serapis 
XI.    Domus  Aurea  (The  Golden  House  of  Nero) 
XII.    Thermie  Titian*  (Baths  of  Titus) 

XIII.  ThermiE  Triani  (Baths  of  Trajan) 

XIV.  Amphitheatrum  Flaviuni  (Coliseum) 

XV.  Buildings  connected  with  the  Amphitheatre  .... 

The  Vivarium 

The  Amphitheatrum  Castrense 

The  Claudium 

The  Samiarium 

The  Spoliarium 

The  Armamentarium 

The  Ludi  Gladiatorii 

The  Summum  Choragium 

The  Castra  Misenatium 

The  Curia  Athletarum 

XVI.  The  Viminal,  the  Cespian,  the  Subura,  andtlieVicus  Patricii, 

Regio  IV 

XVII.    The  Subura 

XVIII.    The  Vicus  Patricii 

XIX.    Private  Dwellings 

XX.    The  Great  Parks  on  the  Eastern  Side  of  the  City,  Regions  V. 

VI,  and  VII 

XXI.    Horti  Variani  

XXII.   Horti  Liciniani 

XXIII.  Horti  Tauriani 

XXIV.  Horti  Lamiani  et  Maiani 

XXV.   Horti  Maeceuatis 

XXVI.   Horti  Lolliani 

XXVII.    Horti  Sallustiani 

XXVIII.   Horti  Luculliani 

XXIX.    Horti  Aciliani 

XXX.    Public  Buildings 


336 

336 

336 

338 

339 

339 

344 

344 

345 

346 

346 

346 

348 

349 

350 

353 

357 

358 

363 

365 

367 

383 

383 

385 

385 

385 

385 

386 

386 

387 

387 

387 

388 
388 
390 
391 


394 
395 
400 
404 
406 
409 
412 
413 
419 
419 
427 


XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 

XL. 


XLI. 

XLII. 
XLIII. 
XLIV. 

XLV. 
XLVI. 


XLVII. 

XLVIII. 

XLIX. 

L. 

LI. 

LI  I. 

LIII. 

LIV. 

LV. 

LVI. 

LVII. 

LVIII. 

LIX. 

LX. 

LXI. 

LXII. 

LXIII. 

LXIV. 

LXV. 

LXVI. 

LXVII. 

LXVIII. 

LXIX. 

LXX. 


COXTENTS  XVU 

Templiim  Solis  Aureliaui       .......      428 

Tlierm:e  Diocletiana; 432 

L'astra  Pra-loria      .........      437 

The  Campus  Martins  and  tlu-  (Jiixus  Flaininius,  Regio  IX       .  440 

Tlie  Taieiituni 446 

Campus  ^lartius 448 

Circus  Flamiuius     .........       450 

Rta1)uia  (|uatut>r  Factionum  VI 454 

TiMiiplum  Ilcrculis  magni  Custodis  ad  (Jircuni  Flaniinium  .       4.55 

The  Fdriini  Holitorium  and  its  Kditii'es 458 

(A)    .Edes  Spc-i 458 

(u)    .Edcs  Pietatis 4-58 

(c)  ^Edi's  lunonis  .Sospitif 458 

(d)  Tcmplum  laiii 458 

The  I'oiupfiaii  Buildiiif^s 459 

Mausoleum  nf  Augustus 461 

Horologium  or  Sohirium  (sun-dial) 464 

Ara  Paris  Augusta- 466 

Opera  8.  Porticus  Octavia' 466 

The  Moiiumenta  Agrippa- 470 

Porticus  Piilla'  or  Vipsauia     ......       47(1 

Campus  Agriiijiu'        .         .         .         ■         .         •         •         .471 
Diribitorium    .  .  .         .         •         .471 

Saipta  lulia  .  .  .         .471 

Villa  Puhlica 472 

Pautlu'uii 473 

Lakonikon 48(i 

Basilica  Xcptuiii,  Xciitiiiiium,  Porticus  Arguuautaruni    .         .  487 

Thcatrum  Marcclli 4'.t() 

Thcatruui  ct  <  ivpta  Hallii 493 

Odeum    . 496 

Stadium 496 

Therma'  Xeroiiiame  ct  Alc.xaiidriaua-    .....       498 

Isium  ct  Scra](imn      .........  .500 

Tcmiilum  Matidia'  ........       •502 

The  Antouinc  Buildings .503 

The  Commcn'ial  (,»nartcrs  on  the  Left  Bank  of  the  Tiber    .       .509 
Forum  Ildlitnriuin      .........  511 

Forum  Boarium      .........       512 

Temi)luni  Fortuna- 514 

Tcmiilum  ^latris  Matnta--        .......       515 

Tcmplum  Ccrcris  Lilieri  Libcra'i|uc  ......  516 

The  .laiius  and  the  Arch  of  Sevcrns  and  (aiacalla        .         .       518 

Statio  Annonic 519 

The  Ilorrca  Puhlica  Populi  Romani .522 

Tile  Marble  Wharf  and  Sheds .524 

Salina'  (the  Salt-AVarchouses) .527 

The  Lead-Warehouses 528 

The  Brick- Warehouses 529 


xviii  CONTENTS 

LXXI.   The  Monte  Testaccio 521) 

LXXII.  The  Aventine,  Eegion^  XII  and  XIII  — Theniui'  AutoniniaiKv  5.'32 

LXXIII.  Churches  and  Palaces  on  the  Aventine          ....       540 

LXXIV.    The  Thernite  Deciana; 542 

LXXV.  The  Escubitorium  Coh  •  YII  •  Vigilum         ....       544 

LXXVI.    Horti  Csesaris 546 

I.XXYII.    Horti  Get* 548 

LXXVIII.    Horti  AgrippiniB 548 

LXXIX.    Mausoleum  Hadriani 551 

Conclusion  :  The  General  Aspect  of  the  City 561 

Appendix. 

A.  Comparison  between  Years  of  the  Christian  and  the  Roman  Eras        .  571 

B.  Chronological  List  of  Roman  Emperors 571 

C.  Chronological  List  of  the  First  Kings  of  Italy 578 

D.  Chronological  List  of  the  Popes 578 

E.  Al]ihabetical  List  of  Painters,  Sculptors,  and  Architects  mentioned  in 

this  Book 586 

F.  lioman  Coins        ...........  586 

G.  Roman  Measures  of  Length .  588 

H.   Roman  Weights 588 

I.   The  Roman  Calendar 589 

J.    A  List  of  Ancient  Marbles .       589 

Indexes. 

I.   The  Existing   Remains   of    Ancient    Rome   described   Alphabetically   in 

Architectural  Groups. 
II.    The  Existing  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome  described  in  Chronological  Order. 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTEATIONS 


FIG.  PAGE 

1.  Map  of  Hydrofjrapliy  ami  Chorotrraphy  of  Ancient  Rome.    Fmnti.-tpitcf 

2.  The  Clifts  of  the  ( 'a]>itciliiie  Hill  above  "La  Coiisolazione  "      .         .  2 
.J.  Section  of  tlie  (jiiirinal  Hill -i 

4.  Curve  of  the  Flood  of  December,  187(1 11 

5.  Modern  Embankment        .........  1.3 

6.  Ancient  Embankment            .........  I'-i 

7.  The  Mouth  of  the  Tiber  at  Fiumicino       ......  14 

8.  The  ^Emilian,  Fabrician,  ( 'estian  Hridj^es,  and  the  Island  in  the  Tiber  17 

9.  The  .Stern  of  the  Ship  of  .Esculai)ius lit 

10.  iMuindations  of  Hridf^e  (?)  above  the  I'onte  Sisto        .         .         .         .  -21 

11.  The   Incline  to  the   ^Elian   Bridge   from    the   Campus    Martins   (Left 

Bank) 23 

12.  Bronze  Head  found  in  the  Tiber 25 

13.  Statue  found  in  the  Tiber 28 

14.  The  Course  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima       .......  2!) 

1-5.  The  Latrina  annexed  to  the  Guest-Hooms  of  the  Villa  Adriana      .  32 

16.  The  Quarries  of  Travertine,  Cava  del  Barco 37 

17.  The  Opus  Incertum 44 

18.  The  Opus  Keticulatum 40 

19.  Map  of  A(|ueducts 47 

20.  The  Channel  of  the  Aqua  Appia  under  the  Aventine          ...  48 

21.  Ponte  Lu])o .50 

22.  The  Aqueducts  at  Roma  Vecchia .52 

23.  The  Seven  Aqueducts  at  the  Porta  Maggiore 55 

24.  :\Iap  of  AValls 59 

25.  Section  of  Walls 61 

21).  Section  of  Agger 62 

27.  Forum  Boarium 63 

28.  The  Ditch  of  the  Agger  of  Servius 65 

29.  Walls  of  Servius  on  the  Aventine 67 

30.  The  Covered  Way  of  the  Walls  of  Aurelian,  Vigna  Casali        .         .  69 

31.  The  Porta  S.  Lorenzo 76 

32.  Door  of  the  First  Century  built  into  the  Walls  of  Aurelian       .         .  79 

33.  The  Two  Towers  at  the  Entrance  to  the  Harbor  of  Rome        .         .  80 

34.  Tower  of  Leo  IV.  in  the  Vatican  Gardens.     Bastions  of  Pius  IV.  in 

the  Foreground 83 

35.  The  Fortifications  of  Laurentiopolis.     By  M.  Ileemskerk       .         .  85 


XX  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

36.  The  French  Army  entering  the  Porta  S.  Pancrazio,  Julj-  4,  1849       .  87 

37.  Sketch-Map  of  the  Fourteen  Eegions  of  Augustus  ....  89 

38.  The   Fragment   of  the  Marble  Plan  discovered  by   Castellani   and 

Tocco  in  1867 97 

39.  The   Eeraains   of  a  Private  House  discovered  under  the  Baths  of 

Caracalla  by  G.  B.  Guidi,  1867      .......  101 

40.  Sketch-Map  of  Excavations  of  Palatine 108 

41.  Map  of  Ancient  and  Modern  Divisions  of  the  Palatine  Hill   .         .  110 

42.  Plan  of  AntemniB .  112 

43.  Reservoir  at  Antemnie 112 

44.  Plan  of  Kingly  Palatine 113 

45.  A  Village  of  Straw  Huts  near  Gabii  (Castiglione)  ....  114 

46.  Plan  of  the  Terramara  di  Fontanellato 115 

47.  A  Fragment  of  the  Marble   Plan   -with   C'livus  Victori;e  and  Vicus 

Tuscus 120 

48.  Plan  of  the  Augiistivum 122 

49.  General  View  of  West  Corner  of  Palatine  Hill        ....  128 

50.  Hut-urn  from  Alba  Longa .131 

51.  Headless  Statue  of  Cybele,  found  near  her  Temple  on  the  Palatine  134 

52.  The  Cybele  from  Foniiiiv 136 

53.  Plan  of  the  Domus  Augustana,  Ground  Floor 139 

54.  Plan  of  the  Domus  Tiberiana  and  of  the  Domus  Gaiana         .        .  145 

55.  A  Graffito  of  the  Domus  Tiberiana 147 

56.  The  Remains  of  tlie  Palace  of  Caligula,  seen  from  the  Sacra  Via  .  151 

57.  A  Corner  of  the  Palace  of  Caligula  according  to  Rosa's  Map     .        .  152 

58.  The  Same,  designed  in  Sheet  xxix.  of  the  "Forma  Urbis  "  .         .  153 

59.  A  Brick  Stamp  of  John  VII 155 

60.  Plan  of  Domitian's  Palace 157 

61.  The  Horti  Adonea,  a  Fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan  of  Rome     .        .  166 

62.  Plan  of  the  Horti  Adonea  (?),  according  to  Ligorio         .         .         •  167 

63.  The  Church  of  S.  Cwsarius  in  Palatio   " 169 

64.  The  Torre  Cartnlaria  in  the  Sixteenth  Century       ....  172 

65.  Headless  Statue  of  a  Muse  discovered  in  the  so-called  Stadium         .  175 

66.  Female    Head  of  Greek  Workmanship  discovered  in  the  so-called 

Stadium.        ...........  177 

67.  Substructures  of  the  I'alace  of  Septimius  Severus,  as  seen  fmm  the 

Aventine 179 

68.  The  Remains  of  the  ^des  Severiante  and  of  the  Septizonium,  from 

a  Sketch  by  Du  Cerceau 182 

69.  The  Aqueduct  of  the  Palatine  across  the  Valley  of  S.  Gregorio          .  184 

70.  Plan  of  the  Domus  Gelotiana 185 

71.  One  of  the  Walls  of  the  Pajdagogium  with  Greek  and  Latin  Graffiti  186 

72.  Map  of  the  Sacra  Via 188 

73.  The  Arch  of  Constantine  in  Botticelli's  "Castigodel  fuoco  celeste," 

Sistine  Chapel 193 

74.  Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome 195 

75.  Bas-relief  of  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome 197 

76.  Arch  of  Titus  — Temple  of  .Tupiter  Statnr  in    tlie  Bas-relief   of  the 

Aterii 199 

77.  Plan  of  Neighborhood  of  the  Arch  of  Titus 199 


LTST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  xxi 

78.  The  Siinima  Sacra  Via,  witli  Arch  of  Titus  and  Temple  of  Jupiter 

Stator 200 

79.  Plan  of  Constantine's  Basilica 202 

80.  The  Basilica  of  Constantiue  at  the  Time  of  Paul  V.         .         .         .  203 

81.  The  Arco  di  Latrone  under  the  Basilica  of  Constantiue         .         .  205 

82.  Plan  of  Clivus  Sacer 207 

83.  Plan  of  Porticus  Margaritaria 208 

84.  The  Portico  of  the  Heroon  Romuli 210 

85.  Plan  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano 211 

86.  The  Church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  in  the  Middle  Ages        .         .  212 

87.  The  Church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  at  the  End  of  the  Sixteenth 

Century 213 

88.  The  Frieze  of  the  Temple  of  Faustina 217 

89.  Graffiti  on  the  Carystian  Columns  of  tlie  Temple  of  Faustina       .  218 

90.  The  Regia,  as  designed  by  Pirro  Ligorio 220 

91.  Temples  of  Vesta  and  Castores  (Auer's  Reconstruction)        .         .  223 

92.  Plan  of  Atrium  and  Temple  of  Vesta 225 

93.  Map  of  Forum  and  of  Basilica  .lulia 251 

94.  The  Margo  of  the  Forum    .........  253 

95.  The  Fragments  of  the   Marlde    I'iutei,    discovered   in    Sejjtember, 

1872 255 

90.    One  of  the  Marble  Plutei,  after  Restoration 256 

97.  The  Rostra  as  represented  in  a  Bas-relief  of  the  Arch  of  Constantine  257 

98.  The  Column  of  Phoeas  —  thi'  IMarlih;  IMutei  in  the  Foreground    .        261 

99.  Plan  of  the  Senate  House,  rebuilt  bv  Diocletian        ....     263 

264 
265 
268 
269 
272 
274 
276 
281 


100.  The  Marble  Incrustations  of  the  Senate  Hal!         .         .         .         . 

101.  Details  of  Cornice  of  the  Senate  Hall 

102.  The  Rostra  .Julia  and  tiie  Temple  of  Ctvsar 

103.  Fragment  of  the  Afarljle  Plan  with  Temple  of  Castores 

104.  The  Substructure  of  the  Temple  of  Castores  .... 

105.  The  Southwest  Corner  of  the  Basilica  Julia       .... 

106.  General  View  of  the  Basilica  -Julia  ...... 

107.  The  Church  of  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus,  sketclied  by  Heemskerk 

108.  Pedestals  of  Columns,  Arcli  of  Severus  .....         283 

109.  A  Fruiterer's  Siiop  under  the  Arcli  of  Severus  ....     284 

110.  The   Clivus    Capitolinus,    now   concealed    by   the    Modern    (1880) 

Causeway 289 

111.  The  Frieze'of  the  Temple  of  Vespasian 290 

112.  The  Porticus  Consentium 293 

113.  Old  Gate  of  Tabularium  blocked  by  Teuii)le  of  Vespasian        .         .     295 

114.  Remains  of  the  Platform  of  the  Cuiiitolium  in  the   Garden  of  the 

Caffarelli  Palace 298 

115.  The  Venus  Genetrix  l)y  Arkesilaos  —  a  Frngnieiit  in  the  Museo  delle 

Terme 301 

lie.    Plan  of  the  Forum  Augustum  .......         303 

117.  The  South  Hemicycle  of  the  Forum  Augustum,  excavated  in  1888     305 

118.  Tlie  Forum  Transitorium  :  a  Sketch  by  ISoscoio         ....     309 

119.  Forum  Traiani 311 

120.  Frieze  from  the  Basilica  ripia  (Lateran  iluseum)     ....     314 

121.  Frieze  from  the  Basilica  Ulpia  (Lateran  Museum)         .         .         .         315 


xxu  LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

122.  Heads  of  Animals  discovered  in  the  Forum  of  Trajan      .         .         .  319 

123.  Map  of  Regions  I.  (Porta  Capena)  and  II.  (Ctelimontium)    .         .  320 

124.  Sarcophagus  of  Scipio  Barbatus  in  the  Vatican         ....  322 

125.  Plan  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Scipios,  according  to  Piranesi         .         .  324 

126.  Tomb  of  tiie  Scipios  (Present  State) 325 

127.  Portrait  Bust  of  Scipio  the  Ekler  (Capitoline  Museum)  .         .  327 

128.  The  Columbarium  discovered  in  the  Vigna  Codini,  May,  1852  .  332 

129.  One   of  the  Courts  of  the  Palace  of  the  Laterans,   discovered  in 

1877 341 

130.  Campus  Lateranensis,  about  1534 343 

131.  Plan  of  the  House  of  SS.  John  and  Paul,  and  of  the  Cliurcli  built 

above  it 348 

132.  A  View  of  the  Church  and  Monaster^'  of  S.  Circgorio  in  the  First 

Half  of  the  Sixteenth  Century       .  ' 3.50 

133.  The  Substructures  of  the  Claudlum,  West  Side     ....  352 

134.  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  Inner  View 354 

135.  Plan  of  S.  Stefano  Rotondo 356 

136.  Map  of  Region  III.  —  Isis  et  Serapis 357 

137.  Nymphanim  discovered  near  the  Via  della  Polveriera  .         .         .  360 

138.  Plan  of  the  Golden  House  and  of  the  Baths  of  Titus  and  Trajan     .  3G0 

139.  A  View  of  the  South  Wing  of  the  Domus  Aurea  ....  361 

140.  Plan  of  Western  Section  of  the  Flavian  Amphitheatre     .         .         .  368 

141.  The    Shell    of    the    Coliseum    after    the    Collapse    of   the    Western 

Arcades 374 

142.  The  Insignia  of  the  Compagnia  del  Salvatore  on  the  Coliseum         .  375 

143.  Stone  Cippi  surrounding  the  Coliseum 378 

144.  Step-seat  of  the  Coliseum,  Avith  the  Name  of  a  Fabius  Insteius       .  381 

145.  Wooden  Floor  discovered  in  1874  in  the  Substructures  of  the  Ai-ena 

of  the  Coliseum 382 

146.  I'alladio's  Diagrams  of  the  Anii>liitheatrum  Castrense      .         .         .  384 

147.  Plan  of  the  Ludus  ^Magnus 386 

148.  Remains  of  Public  Baths  near  S.  Pudenziana 390 

149.  Ruins  discovered  in  1684  on  the  Line  of  the  Via  Graziosa     .         .  392 

150.  Map  of  the  Parks  and  Gardens  of  Ancient  Rome      ....  394 

151.  Ligorio's  Perspective  View  of  the  Horti  Variani   ....  396 

152.  The  Horti  Variani,  Vigna  Conti,  by  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme         .  399 

153.  Statue  of  a  Roman  Magistrate  of  the  Fourth  Century  giving  the 

Signal  for  a  Chariot  Race 402 

154.  Columbaria  discovered  in  1872  on  the  Site  of  the  Horti  Liciiiiani    .  403 

155.  Statue  of  Shepherdess  discovered  in  the  Horti  Vettiani         .         .  405 

156.  Bust  of  Commodus  from  the  Horti  Lamiani 408 

157.  Statuette  of  a  Girl  from  the  Horti  Lamiani  ....  409 

158.  The  Conservatory  of  the  Gardens  of  Ma?cenas  ....  411 

159.  The  Fountain  Of  Pontios  the  Athenian,  discovered  in  the  Gardens 

of  Mipcenas 412 

160.  Part  of  the  Marble  Throne  of  the  Venus  Sallustiana,  now  in  the 

Ludovisi  Museum 414 

161.  A  Group  of  Pines  in  the  Villa  Ludovisi,  cut  ddwn  in  1887    .         .  416 

162.  Cliffs  on  the  South  Side  of  the  Vallis  Sallustiana,  l)efore  the  Con- 

struction of  the  New  Quarters 418 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  xxiu 

163.  The    "Parnaso"    or   Xympli;rum    of    the   Villa    Aldobrandini    at 

Frascati 422 

164.  The  Substructures  of  the  Gardens  of  the  Acilii  Glabrioues  on  the 

Pineian.     A  Sketch  by  Yaladier 42-3 

165.  Map  of  Region  VI.  — Alta  Semita 428 

166.  The  Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Sixteenth  Century       .  429 

167.  The  Dioscuri  of  the  (iuirinal,  as  they  appeared  in  1.546         .         .  431 

168.  The  Tepidarium  of  the   Baths  of  Diocletian,  before  its    Transfor- 

mation into  the  Church  of  S.  ^I.  degli  Angeli        ....  434 

169.  Group  of  Cypresses  in  the  Cloisters  of  La  Certosa         .         .         .  436 

170.  Remains    of  the  Castra  Pretoria  :  Northeast  Corner  of  the  (^lad- 

rangle 438 

171.  The  Walls  of  the  Pra'torian  Camp,  with  Aurelian's  Superstructure  439 

172.  One  of  the  Victories  from  the  Arch  of  Gordianus  III.  .         .         .  440 

173.  Map  of  Region  IX.  —  Can)i)us  ^Martins  and  Circus  I'laminius  .         .  440 

174.  Plan  of  the  Ara  Ditis  et  Proserpin* 447 

175.  Fragments  of  the  Pnlvini  of  the  Ara  Ditis         .....  448 

176.  Architectural  Details  of  the  Circus  Flaminius        ....  453 

177.  The  Inscription  of  Anicius  Faustus  from  the  ('ircus  Flaminius  (?)  .  454 

178.  A  Fragment  of  the  Forma  Urbis  showing  Round  Temple  of  Her- 

cules        45,5 

179.  The  Finding  of  the  Bronze  Statue  of  tlie  Hercules  ]\[agnus  Ciistos, 

August  8,  1864 .         .4.56 

180.  The  Shrine  of  the  Hercules  Invictus,  discovered  in  1889,  on  the  Via 

Portuensis 457 

181.  The  so-called  Pompey  the  Great  of  tlie  Palazzo  Spada     .         .         .  4(!0 

182.  The  Mausoleum  of  Augustus,  turned  into  a  Garden  by  the  Soderiui 

about  1.550 "...  463 

183.  The  Ara  Pacis  August:\i  —  details 467 

184.  The  Ara  Pacis  Augusta;— details 468 

185.  Plan  of  the  first  (red)  and  of  the  third  (black)  Pantlicm  .         .         .474 

186.  The  I'antheon  flooded  by  the  Tiber 477 

187.  T!ie  Pantheon  at  the  Time  of  Urban  VIII.  (1625)      .         .         .         .482 

188.  The  Bronze  Trusses  of  the  Pronaos  of  the  Pantheon,  from  a  Sketch 

by  Dosio 483 

189.  The  Remains  of  Raphael,  discovered  September  14,  1833          .,       .  485 

190.  The  Temple  of  Neptune  :  an  unfinished  Study  by  Vespignani     .  489 

191.  Remains  of  the  Hall  of  the  Theatre' of  Marcellus,  from  a  Sketch 

by  Du  Perac  (1575) 492 

192.  Arcades  of  the  Theatre  of  Balbus,  from  a  Sketch  by  .Sangallo  the 

Elder .         .         .     '    .      '  .         .  493 

193.  Forma  Urbis,  fragment  115 494 

194.  Remains  of  the  Crypta  Balbi,  designed  by  Sangallo  the  Elder     .  495 

195.  Remains  of  the  Stadium  discovered  in  1869  at  tlie  South  End  of  the 

Piazza  Xavona 497 

196.  The  Nile  of  the  Braccio  Xuovo  —  A  Fragment      ....  .501 

197.  A  Round  Temple  or  Hall  sketched  by  Giovannoli  in  1619,  near  the 

Palazzo  Capranica 503 

198.  The  so-called  Arch  of  M.  Aurelius  on  the  Corso,  sketched  by  Li- 

gorio 505 


xxiv  LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

199.  Map  of  the  Harbor  of  Rome 509 

200.  Temple  of  Fortuna  ;  Detail  of  the  Order 515 

201.  The  Excavations  of  1827  in  the  Temple  of  Mater  Matuta,  from  a 

Sketch  by  Valadier 517 

202.  The  Janus  of  the  Forum  Boarium,  the  Arch  of  Severus,  and  the 

Church  of  S.  Giorgio,  from  a  Sketch  by  M.  Heemskerk    .         .  519 

203.  Plan  of  S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin 520 

204.  S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin  in  the  Sixteenth  Century    ....  521 

205.  The   Wliarf   for   Landing  Marbles  on  the   Banks  of   the    Campus 

Martins    .         .         .     " 52G 

206.  Map  of  the  Therma-  Antoniniana> 533 

207.  Part  of  the  Building  discovered  by  Guidi  under  the  Baths  of  Cara- 

calla 533 

208.  A  Leaf  from  Palladio's  Sketch-book  (Baths  of  Caracalla)    .         .  535 

209.  Capital  of  the  Composite  Order  from  the  Tepidarium  of  Caracalla's 

Baths 537 

210.  Palladio's  Plan  of  the  Thermse  Decianw 543 

211.  Capital  from  the  Basement  of  Hadrian's  Tomb         ....  552 

212.  Diagram  showing   the  Order   in  which   the  Imperial  Tiim1)stones 

were  placed  in  the  ^lausoleum 554 

213.  The  Girandola  at  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  from  an  Engraving  by 

Lauro  (1624) 556 

214.  The  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian  and  the  Meta  m  Raphael's  "Vision  of 

Constantine " 557 

215.  The  Prati  di  Castello  in  1870 558 

210.   The  Prati  di  Castello  in  1890 559 


THE   RUINS   OF  ANCIENT   ROME 


BOOK    I 

GENERAL    IXKOUMATIOX 


I.  Site  —  Geology  —  CoxFiGt'RATiox  of  Soil.  —  During  the 
sub-Apennine  or  quaternary  period  a  powerful  stream  came  down 
from  the  mountains,  on  the  line  of  a  rent  or  fissure  which 
separated  the  Ciminian  from  the  Alban  volcanoes.  The  stream, 
from  1000  to  2000  metres  wide  and  30  deep,  emptied  itself 
into  the  sea  between  Ponte  Galera  and  Dragoncello.  By  the 
combined  action  of  the  main  flood  and  of  its  tributaries,  portions 
of  the  tableland  on  the  east  or  left  bank  became  detached  and 
formed  small  islands,  while  the  edge  of  the  bank  itself  was  fur- 
rowed and  serrated  into  promontories  and  iidets.  Such  is  the  ori- 
gin of  the  isolated  hills,  since  called  Capitoline.  Palatine,  Aven- 
tine,  and  Ca?lian ;  and  of  the  promontories  projecting  from  the 
tableland,  called  Pincian,  Quirinal,  Viminal,  Cespian.  and  Oppian. 
The  Vatican  and  the  Janicnlum  on  the  west  or  right  bai^k  are  less 
irregular,  because  they  had  to  withstand  the  action  of  the  main 
stream  alone,  and  not  of  side  tributaries. 

When  men  first  appeared  in  these  lands  the  quaternary  river 
had  diminished  almost  to  the  size  and  volume  of  the  historical 
Tiber,  and  the  hills  had  been  reduced  to  a  definite  shape  ;  but  the 
bottom  of  the  valleys  remained  swampy,  so  as  to  be  easily  flooded 
by  freshets.  The  marshes  of  the  Yelabra,  the  Capra?  palus,  the 
Decennije,  and  other  ponds  are  evidence  of  this  state  of  things. 
The  mouth  of  the  river  was  still  near  Ponte  Galera,  12  kilometres 
farther  inland  than  the  present  one.  The  first  human  settlement, 
"dove  I'acqua  di  Tevere  s'insala,"  called  i^/ca/m, stood  on  the  hill 
of  Dragoncello,  opposite  Ponte  Galera.  The  dim  remoteness  of 
these  events  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  when  Ancus  Marcius,  the 


2  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

fourth  king,  founded  Ostia,  as  a  substitute  for  Ficana,  the  mouth 
of  the  river  had  ah'eady  advanced  seawards  5810  metres. 


Fig.  2.  — The  Cliifs  of  the  CapitoUne  Hill  above  "  La  Consolazione." 

It  is  difficult  to  reconstruct  in  one's  mind  tlie  former  aspect  of 
the  site  of  Rome,  as  hills  have  been  lowered,  valleys  filled  u]i,  and 
cliffs  turned  into  gentle  slopes.     By  means  of  borings  made  in 


SITE  o 

1872,1  and  of  my  own  investigations  into  the  depths  of  the  founda- 
tions of  modern  buildings,  I  have  ascertained  that  the  promon- 
tories and  the  isolated  hills  were  faced  —  at  least  on  the  river  side 
—  by  sheer  walls  of  rock,  of  which  there  are  a  few  specimens  left 
at  the  southwest  front  of  the  Capitoline,  and  on  the  west  sides  of 
the  Palatine  and  Aveutine.  In  other  words,  the  site  of  Home  was 
like  that  of  Veil  and  Faleria,  with  narrow  dales  inclosed  by  craggy 
clift's,  shadowed  by  evergreens,  and  made  damp  and  unhealthy 
by  swamps  and  unruly  rivers  (Fig.  2). 

The  otlier  hills,  the  Quirinal,  Viminal,  Pincian,  etc.,  were  not 
different  in  shape,  as  shown  by  the  following  section  taken  across 
the  Quirinal,  from  the  Piazza  Barberini  to  the  corner  of  the  Via 
Nazionale :  — 


5^'^SSS^^Ss^. I 


-(44.32) 


l;3000  AliituJ' 


000  Distances, 


Kg.  3.  —  Section  of  the  Quirinal  Hill. 


Within  the  limits  of  the  old  ci 
those  isolated  were  called  inonta 
and   Ca'lian),   those   connected 
roHes  ((Quirinal  and  Viminal). 
the  rule,  being  counted  among 
with  the  tableland.      In  regard 
stand  in  the  following  order  :  — 

Quirinal,  T'orta  Pia     . 
Viminal,  railway  fetation 
[Oppiari,  the  Sette  Sale     . 
Esr|uiline,  S.  ]Maria  ^lagj^iore 
[Cespiaii,  Via  Qiiattro  Cantoiii 
Palatine,  S.  Bi)naventnra 
Civlian,  Villa  Mattei  . 
Capitoline,  the  Araewli 
Aveutine,  S.  Alessio  . 


ty  there  were  seven  hills,  of  which 
s  (Palatine,  Capitoline,  Aveutine, 
with  the  tableland  were  called 
The  Es(piiline  is  an  exception  to 
the  montes,  although  connected 
to  altitude  above  sea-level  they 


1  Raffaele  Canevari,  Atti  Accademia  Lincet,  serie  ii.  vol.  ii.  p.  429. 


Metres. 
6.3.05 
57.48 
55.02] 
54.43 
50.86] 
50.00 
47.85 
46.00 
45.92 


4  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Other  summits  on  the  left  bank :  — 

Metres. 

Piiician  Hill  at  the  Villa  Medici 56.33 

Piucian  Hill  at  the  Porta  Pinciaiia 63.05 

The  so-called  pseudo-Aventine  by  S.  Saba  .  .  .  43.00 
Moute  d'  Oro,  above  the  Porta  Metroni  .  .  .  .  46.00 
Monte  Citorio 24.34 

Before  the  construction  of  the  central  railway  station,  the  highest 
point  on  the  left  bank  was  an  artificial  hill  called  the  Monte  della 
Giustizia,  the  work  of  Diocletian  and  of  Sixtus  Y.  It  rose  to  the 
height  of  73  metres,  and  bears  the  name  of  "  altissimus  Roniaj 
locus"  in  Bufalini's  map  (1551).  On  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
the  ridge  called  the  monn  Vaticanus  rises  to  the  height  of  liO 
metres  at  the  fort  of  Monte  Mario,  of  75  metres  at  the  top  of  the 
pope's  gardens.  The  Janiculum  measures  89  metres  at  the  Villa 
Savorelli-Heyland,  81.73  at  the  Porta  di  S.  Pancrazio. 

Rome  stands  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  sea  and  the  moun- 
tains, in  the  middle  of  an  undulating  plain  deeply  furrowed  by 
ravines.  This  plain,  47  kilometres  wide  and  60  long,  is  bordered  on 
the  north  side  by  the  Sabatine  volcanic  range  (Rocca  romana,  601 
metres;  Monte  Calvi,  5.90;  Monte  Virginio,  540)  ;  on  the  east  side 
by  the  limestone  pre- Apennines  (Monte  Gennaro,  1269 ;  Monte 
Affliano,  598;  Monte  Guadagnolo,  1218;  the  citadel  of  Prseneste 
at  Castel  S.  Pietro,  760)  ;  on  the  southeast  side  by  the  Alban  hills, 
the  highest  summit  of  which  is  not  Monte  Cavo  (940),  as  generally 
supposed,  but  the  Punta  delle  Faette,  950  metres. 

Students  who  visit  Rome  for  the  first  time  would  do  well  to  take  at 
once  a  general  survey  of  the  seven  hills,  of  the  plain,  of  its  border  of 
mountains  and  sea,  from  the  dome  of  S.  Peter's,  from  the  campanile 
of  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  or  from  the  tower  of  the  Capitol,  which  is 
easier  of  access  and  has  a  more  interesting  foreground  (open 
every  day  from  ten  to  three).  The  landmarks  of  the  panorama 
can  be  singled  out  by  referring  to  — 

Henry  Kiepert's  Carta  corogr.  ed  archiol.  dtlV  Italia  centrale,  1  :  250,000. 
Berlin,  Reimer,  1881.  —  Enrico  Abate's  Guida  della  provincia  di  Roma.  Rome, 
Salviucci,  1890.  Map  in  two  sheets.  Second  ed.  1893.  Maps  of  the  Istituto 
geogralico  niilitare,  1  :  100,000  and  1  :  50,000.  (The  map  1  :  10,000  is  not 
in  the  market.)  The  best  for  use  is  the  Carta  topografica  dti  dintorni  di 
Roma,  in  9  sheets,  1  :  25,000. 

The  highest  peaks  visible  from  Rome  are  the  Monte  Terminillo, 
above  Rieti,  2213  metres  high,  and  the  Monte  Velino,  above  Avez- 
zano,  2487  metres.  They  usually  keep  their  shining  coat  of  snow 
till  the  middle  of  May. 


GEOLOGY  5 

Literature.  —  Giovanni  Brocchi,  Dello  statofisico  del  suolo  di  Roma.  Rome, 
1820.  —  Raffaele  C'anevari,  Cenni  suUe  condizioni  altimetriche  ed  idrauliche  dell' 
agro  romano.  Rome,  1874.  (Auuali  Ministero  agricoltura.)  —  Felice  Gior- 
dano, Condizioni  topogrqtiche  ejisiche  di  Roma  e  Campagna.  (Monogratia  della 
citta  di  Roma,  1881,  pp.  i.-lxxxvi.)  —  Paolo  Mantovaui,  Descrizione  yeologica 
della  Campagna  romana,  Rome,  Loescher,  1874  ;  and  Costituzione  geologica 
del  suolo  romano,  1878.  —  Murray's  Handbook  of  Rome,  ed.  1875,  p.  349. — 
Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  anlica,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-65,  2()7-.300.  Rome,  1838.  —  Adolf 
Becker,  Topogrrqjhie  der  Stadt  Rome,  p.  81.  (Lage,  Weichbild,  Klima.) 
Heinrich  Jordan,  Tojiograjjliie  d.  S.  R.,  vol.  i.  pp.  117-152.  (Lage,  Bodeu, 
Klima.)  —  Otto  Richter,  Topographie  d.  S.  R.,  p.  18.     (Lage  und  Formation.) 

There  are  two  museums  of  geology  and  mineralogy —  one  in  the  L'niversity 
(della  Sapienza),  consisting  of  the  collections  of  Belli,  Brocchi,  and  Spada,  and 
of  a  bequest  of  Leo  XIL  ;  the  other  in  the  former  convent  della  Yittoria,  Via 
S.  Susanna,  second  floor  :  open  Tuesdays,  Thursda3-s,  and  Sundays. 

II.  Geology.  —  There  are  four  geological  formations  in  the 
district  of  Rome,  with  which  the  student  must  become  familiar 
if  he  wishes  to  understand  at  once  some  imjjortant  peculiarities 
of  Roman  masonry  and  architecture.  They  are  the  secondary  or 
limestone,  the  tertiary  or  argillaceous,  the  volcanic,  and  the 
quaternary  or  diluvial  formations. 

The  limestone  is  best  examined  at  INIonticelli,  the  ancient  Cor- 
niculum,  the  fourth  station  on  the  Sulmona  line.  The  rock, 
slightly  dolomitised,  is  white  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  with  terebra- 
tuloe  in  great  numbers  ;  reddish  in  the  middle,  with  a  dozen  va- 
rieties of  ammonites ;  and  white  again  at  the  summit,  with  tere- 
hratidce  and  traces  of  the  anomalous  fossil  uptychus.  The  lime  of 
^lonticelli,  from  the  Caprine  kilns,  mixed  with  pozzolana,  makes 
Roman  masonry  "  fere  perennius."  The  argillaceous  formation  is 
conspicuous  in  the  Vatican  and  Janiculum  ridges,  the  monti  della 
creta  (clay  hills)  of  the  present  day.  A  waUc  through  the  exten- 
sive quarries  of  the  Valle  dell'  Inferno  and  the  Yalle  del  Gelsomino 
will  show  the  student  the  details  of  the  formation,  rich  in  ptero- 
podous  molluscs,  and  will  make  him  appreciate  the  vastness  of 
the  work  of  man,  since  bricks  were  first  accepted  as  an  essential 
element  of  Roman  masonry.  As  the  A'alle  di  Pozzo  Pantaleo  has 
been  bodily  excavated  through  the  hills  of  Monteverde  by  the 
quarrj'men  supplying  tufa  for  the  "  opus  quadratum "  and  the 
"opus  reticulatum,"  so  the  valleys  of  the  Gelsomino,  delle  For- 
naci,  delle  Cave,  della  Balduina,  and  dell'  Inferno  have  been 
hollowed  out  of  the  clay  hills  by  the  ancient,  Renaissance,  and 
modern  bricklayers.  (See  Bull,  com.,  1892,  p.  288,  and  §  xi.  on 
Building  Materials.)  The  pliocene  marls  of  the  Vatican  ridge 
abound  in  fossils ;    they  can  easily  be  gathered  along  the  Via 


6  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

Trionfale  opposite  the  Croce  di  Monte  Mario,  or  in  the  cuttings 
of  the  Vitei'bo  railway,  at  the  top  of  the  Valle  dell'  Inferno. 

The  volcanic  formation  is  represented  in  or  near  Rome  by 
three  kinds  of  tufa  —  the  red  or  lithoid,  the  yellowish  or  granular, 
the  grayish  or  lamellar  ;  and  by  two  kinds  of  pozzolana  —  the  red 
and  the  black.  The  surface  of  tufa  beds,  soft  and  unfit  for  build- 
ing purposes,  is  called  "  cax^pellaccio."  The  tufa  quarries  of  S. 
Saba,  the  largest  within  the  walls,  were  abandoned  in  1889 ;  the 
largest  still  in  use  are  those  of  Monteverde,  outside  the  Porta  Por- 
tese,  and  of  S.  Agnese,  outside  the  Porta  Pia.  The  best  kind  of 
pozzolana  is  quarried  near  the  Tre  Fontane.  Diluvial  or  qua- 
ternary deposits  abound  on  each  side  of  the  Tiber.  The  cliffs  of 
the  Monti  Parioli,  between  the  Villa  di  Papa  Giulio  and  the  Acqua 
Acetosa,  as  well  as  the  gravel  pits  of  Ponte  Molle  and  Ponte  No- 
mentano,  are  best  adapted  for  the  study  of  this  late  formation,  so 
rich  in  fossil  mammalia,  like  the  Eleplias,  the  Rhinoceros  tichorinus, 
the  Bos  p)-imigenius,  the  hippopotamus,  the  lynx,  etc.  It  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  flint  arrowheads  found  in  the  gravel  at  Ponte 
Molle  do  not  belong  to  a  local  race,  but  were  washed  down  from 
pre-Apennine  stations  by  the  flood. 

Travertine,  the  king  of  Roman  building  materials,  is  best 
studied  at  the  Cava  del  Barco,  near  the  stazione  del  bagni  of  both 
Tivoli  railways. 

Pietro  Zezi,  Imlice  blhliograjico  delle  puhllcazioniriyuaydanti  la  mineralogia, 
la  geologia  e  la  paleontologia.  delta  pruvincia  di  Roma.  (Moiiografia  di  Konia, 
vol.  i.  p.  clxiii.) 

III.  Malaria.  —  The  Romans  did  not  deny  the  unhealthiness 
of  the  district  in  the  midst  of  which  their  city  was  built.  Cicero 
calls  it  "  a  pestilential  region,"  and  Pliny  likewise  calls  the  Ma- 
remma  "  heavy  and  pestilential."  The  hills  were  comparatively 
healthy  ("  colles  in  regione  pestilent!  salubres,  colles  saluberrimi," 
Livy,  V.  54)  ;  still,  the  effects  of  malaria,  increased  by  ignorance  or 
contempt  of  sanitary  rules,  must  have  been  felt  also  by  the 
settlers  on  the  Palatine,  Esquiline,  and  Quirinal.  Under  Tiberius 
there  were  three  temples  of  Fever  left  standing  —  one  on  the 
Palatine,  one  near  the  church  of  S.  Eusebio,  the  third  near  the 
church  of  S.  Bernardo;  but  they  represented  the  memory  of 
past  miseries  rather  than  actual  need  of  help  from  the  gods, 
because,  long  before  the  time  of  Tiberius,  Rome  and  the  Campagna 
had  been  made  healthy  in  a  large  measure  ;  and  when  Horace 
(Epist.,  i.  7,  7)  describes  Rome  as  half  deserted  in  the  summer 
months,  he  refers  to  the  habit  of  the  citizens  of  migrating  to 


MALARIA  i 

their  hill  farms  or  seacoast  villas,  to  escape  depressing  heat  rather 
than  malaria.  This  sunimer  emigration  en  masse  is  still  charac- 
teristic of  Rome.  Sixty  thousand  citizens  left  in  189o  for  an 
average  period  of  forty  days :  one  seventh  of  the  whole  population. 

Sanitary  reform  was  accomplished,  firstly,  by  the  draining  of 
marshes  and  ponds  ;  secondly,  by  an  elaborate  system  of  sewers  ; 
thirdly,  by  the  substitution  of  spring  water  for  that  of  polluted 
wells  ;  fourthly,  by  the  paving  and  multiplication  of  roads  ;  fifthly, 
by  the  cultivation  of  land;  sixthly,  by  sanitary  engineering,  ai> 
plied  to  human  dwellings ;  seventhly,  by  substituting  cremation 
for  burial;  eighthly,  by  the  drainage  of  the  Canipagna;  and 
lastly,  by  the  organization  of  medical  help.  The  results  were 
truly  wonderful.  Pliny  says  that  his  villeggiatura  at  Laurentum 
was  equally  delightful  in  winter  and  summer,  while  the  place  is 
now  a  hotbed  of  malaria.  Antoninus  Pius  and  M.  Aurelius  pre- 
ferred their  villa  at  Lorium  (Castel  di  Guido)  to  all  other  imperial 
residences,  and  the  correspondence  of  Fronto  proves  their  presence 
tliere  in  midsummer.  Xo  one  would  try  the  experiment  now. 
The  same  can  be  said  of  Hadrian's  villa  below  Tivoli,  of  the  villa 
Quinctiliorum  on  the  Appian  Way,  of  that  of  Lucius  Verus  at 
Acqua  Traversa,  etc.  The  Campagna  must  have  looked  in  those 
happy  days  like  a  great  park,  studded  with  villages,  farms,  lordly 
residences,  temples,  fountains,  and  tombs  (see  "  Ancient  Rome," 
chs.  iii.  and  x.). 

The  cutting  of  the  aqueducts  by  the  barbarians,  the  consequent 
abandonment  of  suburban  villas,  the  permanent  insecurity,  the 
migration  of  the  few  survivors  under  cover  of  the  city  walls,  and 
the  clioking  up  of  drains,  caused  a  revival  of  malaria.  ]\Iedi»val 
Romans  found  themselves  in  a  condition  worse  than  that  of  the 
first  l)uilders  of  the  city ;  and  being  neither  able  nor  willing  to 
devise  a  remedy,  as  their  ancestors  had  done,  they  raised  their 
helpless  hands  towards  heaven,  and  built  a  chapel  in  honor  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Fever  (see  ''  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  .53). 

The  present  generation  has  once  more  conquered  the  evil,  and 
has  made  Rome  the  best  drained,  the  best  watered,  the  healthiest 
capital  of  Europe,  except  London.  This  statement  may  not  be 
agreeable  to  those  who  systematically  and  deliberately  condemn 
whatever  has  been  done  by  us  since  1870;  but  they  would  do 
well  to  accept  facts  as  they  are.  Comm.  Luigi  Bodio,  Director 
of  the  State  Department  of  Statistics,  has  favored  me  with  the 
followino-  official  declaration  :  — 


8  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

"  Rome,  10  Nov.  1894. 

"  From  1st  January,  1860,  to  31st  December,  1869,  in  an  aver- 
age population  of  205,229,  thei-e  were  5477  average  annual  bii-ths, 
5946  deaths.  Rate  of  births,  26.70  per  thousand;  of  deaths,  29 
per  thousand. 

"Between  1890  and  1893,  in  an  average  population  of  437,355 
souls,  there  were  11,678  births,  9791  deaths  per  annum.  Rate  of 
births,  26.70  per  tliousand ;  of  deaths,  22.38.  This  last  figure 
includes  the  floating  population,  and,  above  all,  the  peasants  who 
come  down  from  their  moiintains  to  cultivate  the  Maremma,  and 
furnish  the  heaviest  percentage  to  the  hospital  lists.  The  rate  of 
deaths  among  the  resident  population  is  only  1QA5  per  thousand, 'while 
in  London  it  rose  to  20.37,  in  Vienna  to  21.53,  in  Berlin  to  23.09, 
in  Paris  to  23.80."  i 

LiTEKATURE.  —  Pictro  Balestra,  L' iffiene  nelln  citta  e  camjjogna  di  Rmnn. 
1875.  —  Guido  Baccelli,  La  malaria  di  Roma.  (Monografia  di  Roma,  1881,  vol. 
i.p.  149.)  —  Giovanni  Brocclii,  Discorso  sulla  condizione  dell'  aria  di  Roma  nei 
tempi  anticki.  1820.  —  Stefano  Ferrari,  Condizioni  igieniche  del  climn  di  Roma. 
(Monografia  di  Roma,  1881,  vol.  i.  p.  316.)  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  DI  alcune 
opere  di  risnnamenio  delV  af/ro  romano.  Atti  Lincei,  1879.  "  Tlie  Sanitary 
Condition  of  Rome:  "  Ancient  Rome,  p.  49.  —  Lanzi-Terrigi,  La  malaria  e  il 
clima  di  Roma.  Rome,  1877.  —  Francesco  Scalzi,  Malattie  predominanti  in 
Roma.  Rome,  1878.  —  Angelo  Secchi,  Intorno  ad  alcune  opere  idrnuliche 
antiche  rinrenute  nella  campagna  di  Roma.  —  ('orrado,  Tommasi  Crudeli,  The 
Climate  of  Rome  and  the  Roman  Malaria.  (Translated  by  Charles  Cramond 
Dick.  London,  Churchill,  1892.)  L'  antica  fognatura  delle  colline  romane. 
Atti  Lincei,  vol.  x.,  1881.  Alcune  riflesdoni  sul  clima  dell'  antica  Roma. 
Mittheil.,  1877,  p.  77.  L'ancien  drainage  des  collines  romaines.  Melanges  de 
I'Ecole  fran9aise,  1882.  —  Charles  Edmund  Wendt,  The  New  Rome  and  the 
Question  of  Roman  Fever.  New  York,  1892. — Philijipe  Tournon,  Etudes 
statistiques  sur  Rome.    Paris,  1855,  vol.  i.  pp.  223,  230. 

rV.  Climate.  —  The  climate  seems  to  have  been  more  severe 
in  ancient  times  than  now.  Dionysius  (Fragm.,  1.,  xii.  8)  describes 
a  blizzard  which  covered  the  ground  with  seven  feet  of  snow. 
Men  died  of  cold,  sheep  and  cattle  were  frozen,  and  many  houses 
fell  under  the  weight  of  their  snowy  pall.  He  speaks  probably  of 
the  year  401  b.  c,  which  Livy  (v.  13)  calls  "  insignis  hieme  gelida 
ac  nivosa,"  when  even  the  Tiber  became  a  mass  of  ice.  In  271 
snow  lay  on  the  Forum  for  forty  days.'^  On  12th  .January  67  n.  c. 
the  meeting  of  the  Senate  was  adjourned  on  account  of  the  cold 

1  Death-rate  in  1886  — London,  19.8;  Rome,  20.0;  Paris,  24.6;  Berlin,  25.8; 
Vienna,  26.2;  Petersburg,  30.6;  Buda-Pest,  39.4. 
'  See  Augustine,  De  civitate  Dei,  iii.  17. 


CLIMATE  9 

which  prevailed  in  the  CuriaJ  The  severity  of  another  winter,  per- 
haps that  of  1!J  B.  c,  is  described  by  Horace  (Od.,  i.  9).  Martial's 
epigram,  iv.  18,  commemorates  the  fate  of  a  youth  transfixed  l)y 
an  icicle.  Such  excesses  of  temperature  are  not  recorded  in  mod- 
ern days.  Between  1828  and  1877  the  lowest  registered  was  8.25° 
Centigrade  (February,  18-1.5),  the  highest  42°,  a  most  extraordi- 
nary case,  which  happened  on  July  17,  1841.  The  mean  annual 
temjierature  is  16.40°.  In  the  course  of  the  day  the  mercury  rises 
(piickly  in  the  morning  and  falls  slowly  after  noon.  In  summer 
there  are  two  maximums  —  one  from  twelve  to  one  o'clock,  the 
other  towards  nine  p.  m.  The  temperature  is  always  lowest  at 
sum-ise. 

Rain  is  most  frequent  in  Xovember,  heaviest  in  October. 
There  are  155  cloudless  days  in  the  year,  122  misty,  83  cloudy. 
Maximum  rainfall  (1872),  10.'iO.:30  millimetres;  minimum  (1834), 
319.45.  In  summer  time  the  land  breeze  blows  from  early  morn- 
ing to  nine  a.  m.,  the  sea  breeze  from  eleven  to  six.  These  refresh- 
ing winds  make  Kome  more  comfortable  in  summer  than  other 
cities  of  much  higher  latitudes. 

V.  Hydrography  —  Rivers,  Springs,  Ponds,  Marshes. — 
The  Tiber  rises  from  the  Monte  Coronaro,  at  the  height  of  1167 
metres  above  the  sea,  and  reaches  Rome  after  a  winding  course  of 
373  kilometres,  through  Etruria,  Umbria,  and  Sabina.  The  niean 
breadth  of  the  river  in  the  city  district  was  80  metres  (now  100 
metres  between  the  embankments),  its  average  depth  3  metres, 
total  length  from  springs  to  sea  393  kilometres.  Below  Rome  it 
expands  into  a  channel  120  metres  wide,  navigated  by  steamers 
and  coasting-vessels  of  100  tons  burden.  Ceselli's  observations, 
from  ]\Iarch,  1871,  to  Feltruary,  1872,  state  the  daily  average  out- 
flow of  the  river  at  1.296,000  cubic  metres.  During  the  same  year 
8,582,333  tons  of  sand  and  mud  were  washed  down  to  the  sea,  a 
volume  of  over  4,000,000  cubic  metises.  This  state  of  things  and 
the  prevalence  of  southwesterly  winds  makes  the  coast  advance 
westwards  at  a  consideralile  rate.  We  have  just  seen  that  Ficaua, 
the  oldest  human  station  near  the  bar  of  the  river,  is  now  12,000 
metres  inland,  and  kingly  Ostia  6600  metres.  The  Torre  di  S. 
Michele,  built  in  1567  by  Michelangelo  on  the  edge  of  the  sands, 
stands  2000  metres  away  from  the  present  shore ;  the  Torre 
Clementina  at  Fiumicino,  built  in  1773,  "  in  ipso  maris  supercilio," 

1  Cicero,  Ad  Quint,  fratr.,  ii.  12. 


10  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Htands  690  metres  inland.^  The  average  yearly  increase  of  the 
coast  at  the  Ostia  mouth  is  9.02  metres,  at  the  Fiumicino  mouth 
3.10  metres. 

Literature.  —  Giuseppe  Ponzi,  Storia  geologica  del  Tevere.  (Giornale 
arcadico,  vol.  xviii.  p.  1'29.)  DtW  Aniene  e  de  suol  rditti.  (Ibid.)  —  Aubert, 
Roma  e  V  inondazione  del  Tevere.  (Giornale  arcad.,  vol.  Ixvi.  p.  142.)  —  Alessan- 
dro  Betocchi,  Delfiume  Tevere.  (Moiiogratia  di  Koiua,  vol.  i.  p.  l'J7.)  Effeme- 
ridi  del  Tevere,  published  yearh'  by  the  Accademia  dei  Liiicei.  —  Marco  Ceselli, 
Bulletiino  nautico  e  geograjico  di  Roma,  vol.  vi.  n.  3.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Storia  delle 
acque.  Rome,  1817.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  /  comentarii  di  Frontino  intorno  le 
acque  e  gli  acquedofti.  Rome,  Salviucti,  1880,  pp.  3-28.  —  Alessandro  Nar- 
ducci  published,  in  1876,  an  essay  on  the  bibliography  of  the  Tiber  (Saggio  di 
hibUografia  del  Tevere,  Rome,  Civelli),  in  which  over  400  works  are  registered. 
Their  number  may  be  stated  now  at  700.  The  best  library  for  consultation 
on  the  subject  is  the  Biblioteca  del  Miriistero  dei  Lavori  publici.  Piazza  di  S. 
Silvestro.  There  is  a  special  department  in  Rome  for  the  works  and  embank- 
ment of  the  Tibei",  with  a  good  collection  of  maps  and  diagrams  (Ufficio  tec- 
nico  speciale  per  la  sisteniazione  del  Tevere.     Via  di  Ripetta,  n.  222  c). 

The  inundations  are  the  great  historical  feature  of  the  Tiber. 

From  the  traditional  flood,  in  the  course  of  which  Romulus 
and  his  twin-brother  were  exposed  to  the  waters  under  the  rocks 
of  the  Palatine,  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  twenty-six 
inundations  are  recorded ;  thirty  from  1  to  500  a.  d.  ;  twenty-one 
from  500  to  1000;  twenty-three  from  1000  to  1500;  thirty-two 
from  1500  to  the  present  day ;  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
two.  The  worst  of  which  we  liave  the  measurement  reached  the 
following  altitudes  at  the  hydrometer  of  Ripetta  (ordinary  level 
of  water,  0.70  metres)  :  — 

Metres. 

December,  1280 10.02 

November,  1.376 17.02 

December,  1495 16.88 

October,  1530 18.95 

September,  1557 18.90 

DECEMBER,  1598 19.56 

January,  1606 18.26 

February,  1637 17.55 

November,  1660 17.11 

November,  1668 16.00 

December,  1702 15.41 

February,  1805 16.42 

December,  1846 16.25 

December,  1870 17.22 

1  The  coast  has  increased  about  390  metres  since  1st  April,  1857,  when  au 
official  survey  was  taken  by  the  local  collector  of  customs. 


I 


THE   TIBER  11 

The  flood  of  1598,  the  highest  recorded  in  history,  began  on 
Christmas  eve ;  at  noon  the  next  day  there  were  6.50  metres  of 
flood  in  the  Via  di  Ripetta,  6.58  metres  at  the  Pantheon,  5.28 
metres  at  the  Piazza  Xavona,  4.56  metres  on  the  Corso  by  S. 
Lorenzo  in  Lncina.  A  boat  went  ashore  in  the  Piazza  di  Spagna, 
where  tiie  Fontaua  della  Barcaccia  was  erected  by  Bernini  to 
commemorate  the  event;  two  arches  of  the  Pons  ^Emilias  were 
overthrown  at  three  P.  M.  on  the  21th,  a  few  seconds  after  Cardinal 
Pietro  Aldobrandiuo  had  crossed  it  to  rescue  some  families  sur- 
rounded by  the  foaming  waters.  Houses  were  washed  away  l)y 
hundreds;  TOO  persons  were  drowned  in  the  city,  and  800  in  the 
suburbs,  besides  thousands  of  cattle.  As  usual,  famine  and  pesti- 
lence followed  the  flood. 

In  the  flood  of  1702,  which  rose  to  only  15.11  metres,  fifty-two 
streets  and  squares  were  submerged  on  the  left  bank,  north  of  the 
Capitol,  eighty-five  south  of  that  hill,  and  sLsty-two  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river. 

The  last  flood,  on  December  28  and  29,  1870,  which  gave  rise  to 
King  Victor  Emmanuel's  first  visit  to  his  new  capital  on  a  merci- 
ful errand,  marks  another  important  date  in  the  history  of  the 
city,  because  to  it  we  owe  the  construction  of  the  new  embank- 
ments, which,  when  finished,  will  have  cost  the  state,  the  county, 
and  the  city  over  20(),0()().()00  lire.  The  curve  of  the  flood  of  1870 
is  represented  in  this  diagram  :  — 


f 

■ 

2  ;  ?  2  ?  : 

I   ;  £  IS  ti::  s 

T   "   "    T    : 

-?;::: 

?  ?  7  f  i      i  i 

Hours  a> 

2 

.20..; 

.    i   .    2   00c.  |S 

2    -    2    - 

..  2  .  ; 

.  2. 

2  .      .2 

Days   S 

s            s 

s           s 

% 

" 

- 

Months 

December 

IP.IO 

January   1871 

Fig.  4.  —  Curve  of  the  Flood  of  December,  1870. 

The  event  is  too  recent  to  require  a  description.  It  brought  to 
our  minds  the  floods  so  often  mentioned  by  the  "  Liber  Pontifi- 
calis,"  when  the  waters,  breaking  through  the  walls  at  the  Poste- 
rula  sancti  Martini  (Ripetta),  would  dash  against  the  clifl^s  of  the 
Capitol,  ltd  ut  in  via  lata  (Corso)  amplius  ijuam  duas  statural  (3.80 
metres)  Jiuminis  aqua  excrevisset  (a.  d.  772). 


12  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Literature. — Leone  Pascoli,  II  Tevere  navigato.  Rome,  1740.  —  Gaspare 
Alveri,  Delle  inondazloni  del  Tevere.  (Roma  in  ogni  state,  voL  i.  p.  571.)  — 
Antonio  Grifl,  11  fiume  Tevere  nelle  sue  piit  inemorabili  inondazioni.  Album, 
voL  iv.  pp.  29,  390.  —  Philippe  Tounion,  Etudes  statistiques  sur  Rome,  vol.  ii. 
p.  207.  —  Gaetauo  Moroni,  Dizionario  di  erudizione  ecclesiastica,  vol.  Ixxv. 
p.  125.  —  Filippo  Cerroti,  Le  inondazioni  di  Roma.  Florence,  1871. — Ralfaele 
Canevari,  Tavola  delle  principali  inondazioni  del  Tevere.  Rome,  1875. — 
Michele  Carcani,  II  Tevere  e  le  sue  inondazioni  dalle  origini  di  Roma  sine  ai 
giornl  nostri.  Rome,  1875.  —  Alessandro  Bettocclii,  Monografia  della  citta  di 
Roma,  1881,  vol.  i.  p.  24-'i.  —  Liidovico  Gomez,  De  prodigiosis  Tiheris  iminda- 
tionihus.     Rome,  1531. 

Tlie  earliest  project  for  restraining  the  Tiber  from  overflowing- 
its  banks  dates,  as  far  as  we  know,  from  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar, 
who  moved  in  the  House  a  bill  for  the  cutting  of  a  new  bed  from 
the  Pons  Molvius  to  the  Trastevere,  along  the  base  of  the  Vatican 
hills.^  The  merit  of  having  placed  the  unruly  river  under  the 
management  of  a  body  of  conservators,  selected  from  the  highest 
consular  ranks,  belongs  to  Augustus  according  to  Suetonius  (37), 
to  Tiberius  according  to  Tacitus  (Ann.,  i.  70)  and  Dion  Cassius 
(Ivii.  14,  8). 

Augustus  gave  the  posts  of  chief  conservators  to  C.  Asinius 
Gallus  and  C.  Marcius  Ceusorinus  in  the  year  7  b.  c,  when  the  bed 
of  the  river  was  cleared  "  ruderibus  et  eedificiorum  prolapsionibus," 
deepened  and  widened,  and  its  banks  were  lined  with  terminal 
stones,  marking  the  extent  of  public  property  which  the  conserva- 
tors had  rescued  from  private  encroachment.  Scores  of  these 
stones  are  still  in  existence.  After  the  inundation  of  A.  D.  15, 
which  had  caused  what  Tacitus  describes  as  "  aedificiorum  et  homi- 
num  stragem,"  Tiberius  referred  the  subject  to  Ateius  Cajjito  and 
L.  Arruntius,  the  first  of  whom  was  a  great  authority  on  such  mat- 
ters. They  suggested,  and  the  Emperor  sanctioned,  the  institution 
of  a  permanent  committee  of  five  senators,  to  be  called  curatores 
riparum.  This  institution  lasted  until  the  reign  of  Vespasian  or 
Domitian,  when  we  hear  for  the  first  time  of  one  conservator  only, 
a  patrician,  assisted  by  two  adiutores  of  equestrian  rank.  In  or 
about  A.  D.  101  the  care  of  the  sewers  was  added  to  that  of  the 
Tiber,  and  this  important  branch  of  the  city  administration 
received  the  title  of  .'itatio  alvei  Tiheris  et  cloacarum.  About  330 
the  chief  conservator  exchanged  his  classic  title  for  that  of  consu- 
laris,  and  about  400  for  that  of  comes.     Archaeologists  have  been 

1  Cicero,  Ad  Attic,  xxxiii.  3.  Caesar's  project  was  brought  forward  again 
in  1879.  See  Zucchelli,  Di  una  nuova  inalveazione  del  Tevere.  Rome,  For- 
zaui,  1879. 


J 


THE    TIBER 


13 


able  to  draw  an  almost  complete  chronology  of  these  officers  from 
the  terminal  stones  on  which  their  names  are  engraved. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  180;  vol.  vi.  p.  266.  —  Theodor 
Mominsen,  Staatsrecht,  ii^,  p.  1047. —  Giuseppe  Gatti,  Bull.  comm.  arch.,  vol. 
XV.,  1887,  p.  306.  —  Thedenat,  Dictiunn.  antiq.  grecques  et  ram.  de  Saglio, 
vol.  i.  p.  162-3.  —  Luigi  C'aiitarelli,  Bull.  comm.  arch.,  vol.  xvii.,  1889,  p.  185; 
vol.  xxii.,  1894,  pp.  89  and  354. —  Dante  Vaglieri,  Bull.  comm.  arch.,  vol. 
xxii.,  1894,  p.  -254. 

Two  means  were  adopted  in  im[)erial  times  to  protect  the  city 
[rom  floods  —  an  embankment  on  either  side,  and  the  shortening 
of  the  bed  between  the  city  and  the  sea. 

First,  as  to  the  embankment.  We  have  seen  how  the  Tiber  is 
siibjeot  to  differences  of  level,  which  reached  to  12.86  metres  in 
tlie  flood  of  Clement  VIII.,  increasing  foui'teen  times  the  volume 
of  its  waters.  To  give  such  a  capricious  river  a  regular  outlet, 
modern  engineers  have  built  a  uniform  bed  1(10  metres  in  width, 
which  has  to  serve  both  for  droughts  and  for  floods.     Their  pre- 

Modern    embankment 


Fig.  5. 

decessors,  on  the  other  hand,  had  adopted  a  triple  section,  the 
narrowest  to  serve  in  time  of  drought,  the  second  in  moderate, 
tlie  third  in  extraordinary  floods,  as  shown  in  the  following 
diagram :  — 

Ancient     embankment 


imm//"'" 


Fig.  6. 

The  advantages  of  the  old  over  the  modern  system  are  obvious. 
With  the  old  the  river  was  obliged  to  run  in  every  season  of  the 
year  within  limits  well  defined,  and  proportioned  to  its  volume, 


14 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


"without  raising  sandbanks  and  depositing  silt  and  mud.  The 
moderate  heiglit  of  each  of  the  three  receding  steps  allowed  the 
river  to  preserve  its  pleasing  aspect,  as  is  the  case  in  many  of  the 
modern  capitals  of  Europe  ;  while  the  huge  walls  between  which 
we  have  imprisoned  the  stream  have  transformed  it  into  a  deep 
and  unsightly  channel,  with  nothing  to  relieve  the  monotony  of 
its  banks. 

Side  outlets  to  relieve  the  flood  and  shorten  its  course  towards 
the  sea  were  first  cut  open  by  Claudius.  An  inscrii^tion  discovered 
at  Porto  in  1836  contains  the  expression :  fossis  dvctis  vrbem 
iNA^NDATioxis  PEKicvLO  LiBERAviT  (see  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  xiv. 
n.  85).  Trajan  changed  the  course  of  the  channels.  Another 
fragmentary  inscription,  now  in  the  cloisters  of  S.  Paul  outside 
the  Walls,  says  of  him :  fossam  fecit  q\A  iNVNdationes  Tiberis 
GDSIDVE  \rhem  vexardes  .  .  .  arcerentur.  This  subject  has  been 
exhaustively  treated  by  — 

Pietro  Ercole  Visconti,  Dissertazioni  Accad.  archeol.,  vol.  viii.  (1838),  p. 
213.  —  Luigi  Caniiia,  Ibid.,  p.  259.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Dintorni  di  Roma,  vol. 
ii.  p.  612.  —  Reifferscheid,  Bull,  hist.,  186-3,  p.  8.  —  Charles  Texier,  Revue 
gen.  d' Architecture,  vol.  xv.  p.  306,  pis.  31,  32.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Ricerche 
mlla  citta  di  Porto  (in  Ann.  Inst.,  vol.  xl.,  1868,  p.  144.)  Corpus  Inscr.  Lat., 
vol.  xiv.  p.  22,  n.  88. 

The  following  cut  represents  the  mouth  of  the  navigable  arm 
of  the  river  at  Fiumicino,  which  is  the  modern  representative  of 
the  fossa  Traiana  :  — 


Fig.  7.  —  The  Mouth  of  the  Tiber  at  Fiumicino. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Tiber  are,  first,  the  supposed  whole- 
some qualities  of  its  water,  the  favorite  beverage  of  Clement  VII., 


THE   TIBER  15 

Paul  III.,  and  Gi^egory  XIII.  This  simply  proves  that  the  three 
pontiffs  were  proof  against  tji^hoid,  for  the  river  was  then,  as  it 
continued  up  to  1890,  the  true  Cloaca  Maxima  of  the  city.  The 
second  is  the  abundance  and  regularity  of  its  feeding  springs,  in 
consetjuence  of  which  the  river  has  never  changed  in  volume  and 
level  within  historical  times.  There  is  a  tendency  to  believe  that 
the  Tiber  was  much  lower  in  old  times,  because  Pliny  (xxxvi.  24,  2) 
speaks  of  Agripi)a  being  rowed  into  the  Cloaca  .Maxima,  the 
moutli  of  which  it  is  now  impossible  to  enter.  Observations  made 
in  1S(J!(  by  Padre  Secchi  at  the  marble  wharf  (Marmorata),  and 
by  the  engineers  of  the  embankment,  prove  that  since  the  fall  of 
the  Empire  the  bed  of  the  river  has  hardly  risen  three  feet. 
AVhile  this  fact  is  absolutely  certain,  it  gives  rise  to  problems 
which  are  difficult  to  solve. 

In  the  si)ring  of  1879  a  Roman  house  was  discovered  on  the 
right  l)ank,  in  the  gardens  of  la  Farnesina,  the  paintings  and 
stuccoed  panels  of  which  have  become  famous  in  the  artistic  world, 
and  form  the  best  ornament  of  the  ^luseo  delle  Terme. 

The  pavements  of  this  noble  mansion  were  only  8  metres 
and  20  centimetres  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  about  3 
metres  above  that  of  the  river.  During  the  four  months  employed 
by  us  in  removing  the  frescoes  and  the  stucco  panels,  the  Tiber 
entered  the  house  five  times.  Taking  ten  times  as  a  yearly 
average,  the  paintings  and  the  stuccoes  must  have  been  washed 
by  ordinary  floods  four  thousand  times,  from  the  age  of  Augustus, 
to  which  the  house  belongs,  to  the  fall  of  the  Empire ;  and  yet 
frescoes  and  stuccoes  were  in  perfect  condition,  and  showed  no 
sign  of  having  been  spoilt  by  water.  I  have  not  yet  found  a 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem  ;  because,  even  admitting  the 
existence  of  an  embankment  between  the  house  and  the  river, 
drains  would  always  have  provided  a  way  for  the  flood. 

Literature.  —  Xotizie  (lefjll  Scari,  1880,  p.  127,  pis.  4,  5.  —  Monumenti 
inediti  dell'  Instiittto,  Supplenu-nto  ISltl.  —  ^Yolfgang  Helbig,  Collections  of 
Antiquities  in  Rome,  vol.  ii.  p.  2-20. —  Kodolfo  Lanciani,  Far/an  and  Christian 
Borne,  p.  2*)3. 

The  Tiber  was  celebrated  for  its  fish.  There  is  a  work  on  this 
subject  by  Paolo  Giovio,  translated  from  Latin  into  Italian  by 
Carlo  Zangarolo.  ^lacrobius,  Pliny,  and  Juvenal  praise  above 
all  the  hipus,  when  caught  "  inter  duos  pontes  "  (in  the  waters  of 
S.  Bartolomeo's  island),  where  he  fed  on  the  refuse  of  the  Cloaca 
^laxima.  The  lupus  has  been  identified  by  some  "v\ith  the 
"  spigola  "  or  Pcrca  lehrax,  by  others  with  the  "  laccia  "  or  Clupea 


16  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

alosa,  better  known  by  the  name  of  shad,  the  best  Tiberine  fish 
of  the  present  day.  There  is  a  bas-relief  in  the  Capitol,  represent- 
ing a  sturgeon  16  inches  long,  with  the  text  of  an  edict  of  1581 
providing  that  any  sturgeon  caught  in  Roman  waters  exceeding 
the  statute  size  would  be  considered  the  property  of  the  city 
magistrates. 

VI.   Bridges. 

Literature. —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Opere,  vol.  iv.,  Ponti  antichi,  etc. — 
Stefano  Piale,  Degli  antichi  ponti  di  Roma.  Rome,  183-2. — Adolf  Becker, 
De  muris,  p.  78;  aud  Tojwgraphie,  p,  093.  — Tlieodor  Moniiusen,  Berichte  der 
scichs.  Gesellschajl  dtr  Wiss.,  1850,  p.  320.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Die  Briickeii. 
(Topographic,  vol.  i.  p.  393.)  —  Mayerlioefer,  Die  Briicken  in  alien  Rom,  1883.— 
Zippel,  Die  Briicken  in  alien  Rom.  (Jahrbucli  fiir  klass.  Phil.,  1880,  p.  81.)  — 
Otto  Richter,  Die  Befestigung  des  Janiculum.     Berlin,  1882. 

Pons  sublicius,  the  oldest  of  Roman  bridges.  —  Its  antiquity 
is  proved  not  so  much  by  the  tradition  which  attributes  it  to 
Ancus  Marcius,  as  by  the  fact  that  no  iron  was  used  in  its  original 
construction,  or  in  subsequent  repairs.  Pliny  (H.  N.,  xxxvi.  15, 
23),  ignorant  as  he  was  of  "  Pre-history,"  gives  a  wrong  explana- 
tion of  the  fact  when  he  introduces  the  story  of  Horatius  Codes, 
whose  followers  experienced  so  much  difficulty  in  cutting  it  down 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  Such  was  not  the  case.  Iron  was  pro- 
scribed irom  the  structure  for  the  same  reason  which  prevented 
masons  or  stonecutters  from  using  tools  of  that  metal  in  repairing 
some  of  the  oldest  temples ;  for  instance,  that  of  the  Dea  Dia 
(see  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  41).  At  that  time  the  Romans  lived  still 
"  morally "  in  the  age  of  bronze,  and  felt  a  religious  repulsion 
for  the  new  metal. 

The  bridge  was  carried  away  by  a  flood  in  2-3  b.  c,  perhaps  the 
same  mentioned  by  Horace  (Od.,  i.  2)  ;  and  again  in  the  time  of 
Antoninus  Pius.  On  either  occasion  it  was  restored  according  to 
the  old  rite.i  It  seems  almost  certain  that,  if  the  frame  and 
the  roadway  were  of  timber  and  planks  {mhlicia),i\\&  foundations 
in  mid-stream  must  have  been  of  solid  masonry.^  The  piers  were 
prominent  enough  above  the  water-mark  to  make  the  memory  of 
the  bridge  last  through  the  Middle  Ages,  when  we  hear  very  often 

1  See  Dionysius,  iii.  45  ;  Pliny,  xxxvi.  5,  23  ;  Macrobius,  i.  11;  and  Vita 
Antonin.,  viii. 

2  Servius,  u^n.  viii.  046,  says  of  Porsenna:  cnm  jper  sublicium  pontem,  hoc  est 
ligneum  qui  modo  lapidens  dicitur,  fransire  conaretiir ;  but  his  words  deserve 
little  credit.     (See  ^thicus,  Cosmogr.,  in  Jordan's  Topogr.,  i.  393,  n.  1.) 


BRIDGES 


17 


of  a  "  pons  fractus  iuxta  Marmoratam."  They  were  destroyed 
to  the  water's  edge  under  Sixtus  IV.  ••  On  July  28,  1484,"  says 
the  Diary  of  lufessura,  "  Pope  Sixtus  sent  into  camp  400  large 
cannon-balls,  made  of  travertine,  from  the  remains  of  a  bridge  at 
La  Marmorata,  called  •  il  ponte  di  Orazio  Codes.'  "  The  last  traces 
were  blown  up  in  1877  to  clear  the  bed  of  the  river. 

Literature.  —  Carlo  Fea,  in  Winckelmanii's  edit.    Prato,  18;52,  vol.  xi. 
pp.  379-400.  —  Antonio  Xibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  \t.  19!l. 

Poxs  Fabricius  (Ponte  Quattro  capi).  —  Tlie  island  of  .Escu- 
lapius  niust  have  been  joined  to  the  left  bank  by  a  wooden  bridge 


Fig.  8.  —  The  iBmilian,  Fabriciaii,  Ccstiau  Bridges,  and  the  Ishiud  in  Uie  Tiber. 

as  early  as  192  b.  c.  (see  Li\y,  xxxv.  21,  .5) ;  another  structure  nf 
the  same  kind  is  supposed  to  have  joined  the  island  witli  tin- 
Trastevere  and  the  fortified  summit  of  the  Janiculum.  In  tlu; 
year  62  b.  c.  Lucius  Fabricius,  commis.sioner  of  roads,  tran,s- 
formed  the  first  into  a  solid  stone  bridge.  The  inscriptions  which 
commemorate  the  event,  engraved  below  the  parapets  on  either 
side,  are  followed  by  a  declaration  signed  by  P.  Lepidus  and  M. 
Lollius,  consuls  in  21  b.  c.  that  the  work  had  been  duly  and  satis- 
factorily executed.  From  this  declaration  we  learn  one  of  the 
wise  principles  of  the  Roman  administration  —  that  the  contrac- 
tors and  builders  of  bridges  were  held  responsible  for  their  solidity 


18  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

for  forty  years,  so  that  they  would  regain  possession  of  the  de- 
posit which  tliey  made  in  advance  only  in  the  forty-first  year 
after  it  liad  been  made.  Nothing  speaks  more  highly  in  favor  of 
the  bridge  than  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  one  which  has  survived 
intact  the  vicissitudes  of  1957  years.  It  has  two  arches  and  a 
smaller  one  in  the  pier  between  them ;  a  fourth  is  concealed  by 
the  modern  embankment  on  the  left. 

The  student  must  remember  that  the  streets  of  ancient  Rome 
were  from  three  to  five  metres  lower  than  the  present  ones,  while 
the  bridges  have  remained  the  same ;  the  inclines  which  gave 
access  to  them  were,  therefore,  much  longer  and  steeper  than 
they  are  now,  and  offered  space  for  several  more  openings  or 
arches,  which  have  since  been  buried  by  the  accumulation  of  the 
soil.  These  steep  inclines  were  called  2^Gdet>  pontic,  and  coscice  in 
the  Middle  Ages. 

The  Pons  Fabricius  took  the  name  of  Pons  Judaeorum  when  the 
Jewish  colony  settled  in  the  neighboring  quarter.  It  is  now 
called  dei  Quattro  Capi,  from  the  four-headed  hermce  which  once 
supported  the  panels  of  the  parapet.  There  are  only  two  left  in 
situ.  The  river,  unfortunately,  no  longer  flows  under  this  most 
perfect  of  Roman  bi'idges  ;  by  a  miscalculation  in  the  plan  of  the 
new  embankment  the  channel  has  been  dried  up,  and  the  Ship  of 
^sculapius  has  stranded  on  a  mudbank. 

Literature.  —  Luigi  Caniua,  Edijizii  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  iv.  tav.  242. 
—  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  174,  ii.  600  ;  vol.  vi.  n.  1305. 

Pons  Cestius,  Pons  Gratianus,  Ponte  di  S.  Bartolomeo,  between 
the  island  and  the  Trastevere.  —  Its  construction  is  attributed 
to  Lucius  Cestius,  one  of  the  six  magistrates  whom  Csesar  en- 
trusted with  the  government  of  Rome  on  leaving  for  Spain  in 
46  B.  c.  It  was  rebuilt  by  L.  Aurelius  Avianius  Symmachus,  pre- 
fect of  the  city,  in  a.  d.  365,  and  dedicated  in  the  spring  of  370 
to  the  Emperor  Gratianus.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  p.  245, 
n.  1175.)  Its  third  restoration  took  place  in  the  eleventh 
century  in  the  time  of  Benedict  VIII. ;  the  inscription  which 
commemorates  it  describes  the  bridge  as  fere  dirvtvm  in  tliose 
days.  In  1849,  the  followers  of  Garibaldi  threw  one  of  the  in- 
scriptions of  Gratianus  into  the  stream.  The  bridge  was  altered 
completely  in  1886-89,  so  that  of  the  three  arches  only  the  central 
one  is  ancient.  In  the  course  of  the  last  work  it  was  found 
that  the  blocks  of  travertine  used  by  Symmachns  in  the  restora- 
tions of  36.5-370  had  been  taken  away  from  the  theatre  of  Mar- 


1 


BRIDGES 


19 


cellus,  mainly  from  the  lo\Yei-  (Doric)  arcades  of  the  hemicycle. 
He  liad  also  made  use  of  stones  bearing  historical  inscriptions  of 
the  time  of  Trajan. 

The  two  bridges  made  an  architectural  and  pictorial  group 
with  the  Ship  of  iEsculapius.^  It  is  not  known  when  and  by 
whom  the  island  was  turned  into  this  form.     As  far  as  we  can 


IP^ 

f:    -.-".. .„^ 

'    *-a»4  ■              -H 

•  -nttrrHt^-'  ~  -  - 

(«.■                 ^^, 

tz'--- 

Fig.  9.  —  The  Stern  of  the  Ship  of  ^sculapius. 

judge  from  the  fragment  of  the  stern,  represented  in  the  cut  above, 
the  imitation  must  have  been  perfect  in  every  detail.  The  ship, 
however,  did  not  appear  as  if  it  w'as  floating  on  the  river,  excej)t 
in  time  of  flood,  because  it  rested  on  a  platform  2  metres  above 
low-water  mark.  It  was  entirely  built  of  travertine,  and  measured 
280  metres  between  the  perpendiculars,  with  a  beam  of  76  metres. 
An  obelisk,  pieces  of  which  are  now  preserved  in  Naples,  repre- 
sented the  main-mast. 

A  fanciful  copy  of  this  island  exists  in  the  Villa  d'  Este  at  Tivoli 
as  a  part  of  the  plan,  or  rather  model  in  full  relief,  of  the  city 

1  Literatin-e  on  the  Island  of  TEsculapius.— Corf.  Vat.,  Sim,  f.  42;  Jordan, 
Forma  Urbis,  ix.  42;  Corpus  fnscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  9-12,  9824;  Accad.  Rom. 
Arch.:  sessionc  20  genn.  1881;  Becker,  Topo(jr.,  p.  651;  Richter,  Toporjr., 
p.  158;  Gamucci,  Antich.  di  Roma,  iv.  p,  279;  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  ii.  291. 


20  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

of  Rome  which  Pirro  Ligorio  added  to  the  curiosities  of  that 
delightful  place.  A  stream,  derived  from  the  Auio,  represents  the 
Tiber,  on  which  the  ship  appears  to  be  floating,  with  the  obelisk 
in  the  place  of  the  mast  and  the  coat-of-arms  of  Cardinal  Ippolito 
instead  of  the  emblems  of  the  "  merciful  God." 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Anticliita  di  Roma,  vol.  iv.  pis.  23, 
24.  —  Antonio  Nibbj',  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  167.  —  P.  Bonato,  Annali 
tiocieta  archit.  itallani,  vol.  iv.,  1889,  p.  139. — Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1886, 
p.  159;  1889,  p.  70. 

Pons  JEmilius.  —  In  the  early  days  of  Rome  there  was  but 
one  line  of  communication  with  the  Janiculum  and  with  the  cities 
on  the  coast  of  Etruria :  the  road  that  passed  over  the  Sublician 
bridge,  crossed  the  plain  of  Trastevere  by  S.  Cosimato,  and 
ascended  the  Janiculum  by  the  Villa  Spada.  Livy  (i.  33 ;  v.  40) 
and  Valerius  Maximus  (i.  1,  10)  describe  it,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  flight  of  the  Vestals  to  Veil ;  and  Fabretti  (De  Aq.,  i.  18,  p.  43) 
speaks  of  its  rediscovery  in  the  seventeenth  century.  He  saw  a 
long  piece  of  the  jiavement  between  the  bridge  and  S.  Cosimato ; 
and  where  the  pavement  was  missing,  as  between  the  Villa  Spada 
(de  Nobili)  and  the  church  of  S.  Pietro  Montorio,  its  course  was 
marked  by  a  line  of  tombs  on  either  side.  Tlie  ascent  up  the  hill 
was  exceedingly  steep,  and  hardly  fit  for  carriage  traffic.  Things, 
however,  were  improved  in  the  sixth  century  of  Rome,  when  a 
new  bridge  and  a  new  and  better  road  were  built.  M.  ^milius 
Lepidus  and  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior,  censors  in  b.  c.  181,  founded  the 
piers ;  the  arches  were  added  and  the  bridge  was  finished  thirty- 
eight  years  later.  The  new  road,  the  Lungaretta  of  the  present 
day.  was  then  ti-aced  across  the  low  swampy  plain  of  Trastevere, 
partly  on  an  embankment,  partly  on  viaducts  built  of  stone.  One 
of  these  viaducts  was  discovered  in  1889  near  the  Piazza  di  S. 
Grisogono,  and  is  described  in  the  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1889,  p.  475, 
and  1890,  pp.  6,  57. 

The  Pons  ^milius,  owing  to  its  slanting  position  across  the 
river  and  to  the  side  pressure  of  the  floods  against  its  piers,  has 
been  carried  away  at  least  four  times :  the  first  during  or  shortly 
before  the  reign  of  Probus  (about  a.  d.  280)  ;  the  second  in  1230, 
when  it  was  rebuilt  by  Gregory  IX. ;  the  third  on  September  27, 
1557  (rebuilt  by  Gregory  XIII.)  ;  the  fourth  on  December  24, 
1598,  after  which  it  was  never  rej^aired.  There  is  but  one  arch 
left  now  in  mid-stream,  the  two  on  the  right  having  been  destroyeo" 
in  1887. 


BRIDGES 


21 


LiTERATfKE.  —  Heiiuich  Jordan,  Tapographit,  i.  p.  420.  — Pietro  Lauciaiii, 
Del ponte  senatorio.  Kome,  1826.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rosi<i,  Le prime  raccoUe, 
etc.,  p.  57.  —  Filippo  Bonanni,  Numism. poiitlf.,  vol.  i.  p.  -323,  n.  38,  39. 

Bridge  of  Agrippa.  —  A  stone  cippus,  discovered  in  August, 
1877,  behind  the  church  of  S.  Biagio  della  Pagnotta,  near  the 
Strada  Giulia,  has  revealed  the  existence  and  the  name  of  a  bridge 
of  which  nol)ody  had  ever  heard  before,  either  from  classic  writers, 
or  from  inscriptions,  coins,  or  other  such  soui'ces  of  information. 

The  inscription  reads  as  follows  :  "  Bj-  order  of  Tiberius  Claudius 


W^ 


> 


Line  of  new  embankment 


Line 


of 


Ofic/e 


bank 


Tomb  of/--. 
Platorinuai 


Garden  of  La  Farnesina 


A        !* 


TIBER 


'-■> 


''■^-/— "-^--i/ne   of  new  embankment 
i 

Fig.  10.  —  Foundations  of  Bridge  (?)  above  the  Ponte  Sisto. 

Csesar,  etc.,  we,  Paullus  Fabius  Persicus,  C.  Eggius  Marullus,  C. 
Obellius  Rufus,  L.  Sergius  Paullus,  L.  Scribonius  Libo,  chief  con- 
servators of  the  Tiber  and  its  banks,  have  marked  with  cippi  tlie 
limits  of  public  property  (on  the  left  bank)  from  the  Tricjarinm  to 
the  Bridge  of  Agrippa  (ad  pontrm  Af/rippa)." 

The  Trigarium  was  an  oi)en  space,  near  the  Strada  Giulia,  for 
the  breaking  in  and  training  of  horses,  for  which  luirjiose  the 
ancients  availed  themselves  of  the  trigaAhe  untamed  animal  being 
harnessed  between  two  trained  ones.  As  regards  the  Bridge  of 
Agrippa,  all  our  science  is  at  a  loss  to  explain  the  mystery.  It 
seems  impossible  that  there  should  have  existed  in  Eome  a  large 
bridge,  thrown  across  the  Tiber  by  such  a  man  as  Agrippa,  in  the 
golden  age  of  Augustus,  and  yet  that  not  a  trace  should  be  left  of 
it  in  situ  or  in  wi'itten  or  engraved  documents.  Two  solutions 
are  more  or  less  acceptable.  The  first  is  that  the  bridge  now- 
called  Ponte  Sisto  may  have  been  originally  the  work  of  Agrippa. 
Its   history  is  unknown.     From  the  name  of  Pons  Aurelius  or 


22  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Pons  Antouiiii,  given  to  it  in  the  third  century,  its  construction  has 
been  attributed  to  Caracalla.  Caracalla,  however,  may  have  been 
simply  a  restorer,  as  we  know  that  Roman  bridges  used  to  change 
their  names  after  every  restoration.  The  second  theory  is  that 
Agrippa's  bridge  was  swept  away  by  a  flood  soon  after  the  accession 
of  Claudius,  and  that  its  remains  were  carefully  removed  to  restore 
free  navigation  up  and  down  stream.  This  surmise  seems  justified 
by  the  discovery  made,  100  Jiietres  above  the  Ponte  Sisto,  of  what 
appear  to  be  the  remains  of  sunken  piers,  as  shown  in  Fig.  10. 

These  remains  are  lying  so  low  under  the  bottom  of  the  river, 
they  are  so  irregular  in  shape  and  in  their  respective  distances 
(9.30  metres,  11.50  metres,  23.50  metres),  their  construction 
shows  such  a  curious  mixture  of  large  stones  and  rubble  work, 
that  I  still  hesitate  to  consider  them  to  be  the  remains  of  Agrippa's 
mysterious  bridge. 

LiTERATUEK.  —  Luigi  Borsari,  Notizie.  degli  Scavi,  1887,  p.  323;  and  Bull, 
nrch.  com.,  1888,  p.  92.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  j\Iit(heiluii(/en,  vol.  iv.,  188!), 
p.  285. 

Pons  ^lius  (Ponte  S.  Angelo).  —  A  volume  could  be  written 
on  this  most  histoi'ical  of  Roman  bridges ;  but  I  confine  myself  to 
the  mention  of  the  latest  discoveries  made  in  connection  with  it. 

The  Pons  ^-Elius  was  built  in  A.  v>.  136  by  Hadrian,  together 
with  the  mausoleum  to  which  it  gave  access.  The  construction 
was  recorded  by  two  inscriptions  (Corpus  Tnscriptionum,  vi.  973), — 
copied  by  Giovanni  Dondi  dall'  Orologio  in  the  jubilee  of  1375, — 
which  fell  into  the  river  in  the  catastrophe  of  1450.  There  were 
six  arches  visible  before  the  transformation  of  the  bridge  in  1892 ; 
two  more  have  been  discovered  since  in  the  long  incline  of  the 
left  bank,  making  a  total  of  eight,  of  which  three  only  served 
in  the  dry  season.  When  the  mausoleum  was  transformed  into  a 
fort  or  tete  de  pont  in  403,  the  bridge  was  closed  with  two  gates, 
one  at  each  end.  The  gate  facing  the  Campus  Martins  is  called 
Avprixla  by  Procopius  ;  ^  the  other,  facing  the  Vatican,  was  named 
Porta  S.  Petri  in  Hadrian io,  "Hadrianium"  meaning  the  fort. 

The  access  to  the  bridge  from  the  Campus  Martins  is  repre- 
sented in  the  following  remarkable  photograph  taken  in  July, 
1892.  The  incline  is  40  metres  long,  with  a  gradient  of  eleven 
per  cent.  The  roadway  is  paved  in  the  ordinary  Roman  fashion, 
the  side  pavement  being  of  slabs  of  travertine.  The  holes  on  the 
outer  edges  of  the  sidewalks  mark  the  linP  of  the  parapets,  frag- 
1  Goth.  i.  19.     See  Becker,  De  Maris,  p.  113. 


BRIDGES 


23 


ments  of  which  have  been  found  in  situ.     They  were  composed 
of   pilasters  and  panels,  very  neatly  carved.      On   December  19, 


Fig.  11.  —  The  Incline  to  the  iElian  Bridge  from  the  Campus  Martins  (Left  Bank). 

1450,  while  great  crowds  were  returning  from  S.  Peter's,  where 
Nicholas  V.  had  been  showing-  the  Sudarium.  a  mule  belonging  to 
Cardinal  Pietro  Barltn  became  restive  and  caused  a  panic.  Tlie 
parapets  gave  Avay  imder  the  pressure,  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  pilgrims  fell  into  the  river.    To  prevent  the  recurrence 


24  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

of  such  a  calamity,  Nicholas  V.  opened  the  modern  Piazza  di 
Ponte  (enlarged  1854)  ;  he  also  built  two  expiatory  chapels  at  the 
entrance  to  the  bridge,  from  the  designs  of  Bernardo  Rossellino. 
During  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  S.  Angelo  in  1527,  Clement  VII. 
and  his  garrison  were  much  exposed  to  shots  fired  by  outposts 
concealed  in  the  chapels.  After  his  liberation  the  pope  caused 
them  to  be  demolished,  and  raised  in  their  place  two  statues,  of  S. 
Peter  by  Lorenzetto  and  of  S.  Paid  by  Paolo  Romano.  The  other 
statues,  representing  angels  with  the  symbols  of  the  Passion,  were 
added  by  Bernini  in  1668.  In  the  course  of  the  works  of  1892  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  foundations  of  the  chapels  of  Nicholas 
V.  had  been  built  with  pieces  of  statuary  and  architectural 
marbles  (described  by  Visconti  in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1892,  p.  263). 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Antichita,  vol.  iv.  — Antonio  Nibby, 
Roma  antlcn,  vol.  i.  p.  159.  —  Eodolfo  Lanciani,  Jtiner.  di  EindtdJtn,  p.  15  ; 
and  Bull,  com..,  1893,  p.  14.  —  Liiigi  Borsari,  Notiziedegli  (Scaw,  1892,  p.  411. — 
Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheilungai,  1894,  p.  321. 

A  hundred  metres  below  the  Ponte  S.  Angelo  the  remains  of 
another  bridge  appear  at  low  water.  It  is  probably  the  work  of 
Nero,  who  did  so  much  to  beautify  and  enlarge  the  gardens  in  the 
district  of  the  Vatican,  which  he  had  inherited  from  Agrippina 
the  elder.  The  classic  name  of  the  bridge  is  not  known,  although 
many  have  been  suggested  (Neronianus,  Vaticanus,  Triumphalis). 
In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  called  Pons  mptus  ad  S.  Sjnritum  in 
Saxia.     See  — 

Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Antichita,  vol.  iv.  pi.  13  ;  vol.  i.  p.  13,  n.  91  ;  and 
Camp.  Mart.,  pi.  45.  —  Stefano  Piale,  in  Venuti's  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  190. 
—  Antonio  Niliby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  205. 

Pons  Valextinianus  (Ponte  Sisto).  — The  bridge  of  Valen- 
tinian  I.,  represented  by  the  modern  Ponte  Sisto,  was  one  of  the 
noblest  structures  spanning  the  river.  It  was  rebuilt  in  366  and 
367  by  the  same  Symmachus  whom  I  have  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Pons  Gratianus,  with  the  spoils  and  on  the  site  of  an 
older  one  (of  Agrippa?  or  Caracalla?),  and  was  dedicated  to  Va- 
lentinian  and  Valens.  Overthrown  by  the  inundation  of  797  (?), 
it  was  repaired  by  Sixtus  IV.,  in  1475,  from  the  designs  of  Baccio 
Pontelli.  In  1878,  the  branch  of  the  river  which  flows  under  the 
first  arch  on  the  left  having  been  diverted,  the  corresponding  arch 
of  Valentinian's  bridge  was  found  lying  bodily  on  the  bottom  of 
the  stream  in  such  good  order  that  the  pieces  of  an  inscription, 
which  ran  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  south  parapet,  were 


BRIDGES  ^O 

discovered  in  their  proper  succession.  A  triumphal  arch  which 
decorated  the  approach  from  tlie  Campus  ^lartius  ^  had  fallen  also 
into  the  river,  with  the  bronze  statues  and  groups  by  which  it  was 
crowned.  The  pieces,  recovered  in  1878,  are  now'  exhibited  in  the 
Museo  delle  Terme,  except  a  head  which  found  its  way  into  the 


Fig.  12.  —  Bronze  Head  found  in  the  Tiber. 

aiiti(|uarian  market  and  was  bought,  many  years  later,  by  Ales- 
sandro  Castellani.     This  remarkable  head  is  of  the  highest  im- 

1  As  in  classic  times  triumphal  arches  were  raised  on  the  Sacra  Via  leading 
to  the  Capitdlium,  so  in  the  Christian  era  they  were  raised  on  the  roads  con- 
verging towards  S.  Peter's;  and  es|iecially  ad  pedes  pontium,  at  the  foot  of  tlie 
bridges  wliicli  the  jiilgrims  crossed  on  their  way  to  the  Apostle's  tomb.  That 
of  Gratianus  Valentinianus  and  Tlieodosius  stood  in  the  Piazza  di  Ponte  S. 
Angelo  ;  that  of  Arcadius,  Honorius,  and  Theodosius  at  the  approach  to  the 
Pons  Vaticanus  ;  that  of  Valentinianus  and  Valens  bv  the  Ponte  Sisto. 


26  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

portance  in  regard  to  the  controversy  whether  the  bronze  statues 
placed  on  this  and  other  monuments  of  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century  were  contemporary  works,  or  simply  spoils  from  earlier 
edifices  which  were  considered  to  answer  the  new  purpose  more  or 
less  satisfactorily ;  and  also  whether  the  head  was  changed  or  not 
into  a  new  likeness.  Experts  consider  this  head  to  be  of  better 
style  than  that  prevalent  in  the  second  half  of  the  fourth  centui'y. 

The  parapets  were  divided  into  panels  by  projecting  pilasters. 
Each  panel  contains  six  or  eight  letters  of  an  inscription  which 
ran  the  whole  length  on  either  side,  and  each  pilaster  an  in- 
scription of  its  own  regarding  the  statue  placed  upon  it.  One  of 
the  pedestals  found  in  1892  is  dedicated  "  to  the  august  Victory, 
faithful  companion  of  our  lords  and  masters,  the  S.  P.  Q.  R., 
under  the  care  of  Avianius  Symmachus,  ex-prefect  of  the  city." 
Near  it  was  lying  the  right  wing  of  the  statue  of  Victory.  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  if  a  proper  seai'ch  were  made  in  the  bed  of 
the  river  nearly  all  the  bronzes  of  the  bridge  could  be  recovered. 

The  fragments  of  the  Pons  Valeutinianus  are  dispersed  in  vari- 
ous corners  of  the  Museo  delle  Ternie.  The  inscriptions  of  Sixtus 
IV.  are  in  the  Museo  JMuiiicipale  al  Celio  (Orto  botanico). 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Bull,  (ircli .  com.,  1878,  p.  241. —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Ancient 
Rome,  p.  257.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  in  Ephem.  ejwjr.,  vol.  iv.  p.  279.  —  Chris- 
tian Huelseii,  Mitlhellungen,  18!)2,  p.  3213. 

VII.  Traiectus  (ferries).  —  The  traffic  between  the  two  banks 
of  the  Tiber  was  cai'ried  on  also  by  means  of  ferries,  known  by 
the  name  of  traiectus,  the  tra(/hetti  of  the  present  day.  Each  had 
a  name  of  its  own  :  like  the  traiectus  LucuUi,  Marmorariorum, 
Togatensium  at  Ostia  (Corpus  Inscriptionum,  xiv.  254,  403,  42.5). 
The  sites  of  the  ferries  at  Home  are  marked  by  corresponding  pos- 
terns in  the  walls  of  Aurelian,  along  the  banks  of  the  Campus 
Martins  :  thei'e  was  one  at  the  Porto  di  Ripetta,  others  at  the  Porto 
della  Tinta,  at  the  Posterula  Domitia,  at  the  Porto  dell'  Armata, 
etc.     The  ferries  of  the  Armata  and  Ripetta  lasted  till  1887. 

Literature.  —  Bidl.  arch,  com..,  1889,  p.  175  ;  and  Nolli's  Pianta  di  Roma, 
1748. 

VIII.  Ob.jects   of  Value   in   the   Bed  of   the   River. — 

The  belief  in  their  existence  dates  from  the  Middle  Ages.  Leav- 
ing aside  the  old  stories  of  the  seven-branched  candlestick  and 
of  tlie  gold-plate  of  Agostino  Chigi,  which  rest  on  no  foundation  of 
truth,  the  dredging  works  carried  out  since  1877  prove  that  the 
bed  of  the  Tiber  contains  a  marvelous  quantity  of  objects  of  value, 


THE    BED    OF    THE   RIVER  27 

from  bronze  statues,  masterpieces  of  GrEeco-Roman  art,  down  to 
the  smallest  articles  of  personal  wear,  from  Hint  arrowheads  of 
preliistoric  times  to  the  weapons  used  in  fighting  the  French  in 
1849.  The  dredging,  unfortunately,  has  been  only  superficial,  its 
purpose  being  to  give  the  stream  a  uniform  depth  of  9  feet ; 
while  the  objects  of  value  have  been  absorbed  to  depths  which 
vary  from  3  to  35  feet  below  the  bottom  of  the  river.  Twice 
only  the  maximum  depth  has  been  reached  (Ponte  Garibaldi, 
Ponte  Sisto),  and  on  either  occasion  a  great  mass  of  works  of 
art  or  antiquity  has  been  gathered.^  By  comparing  these  discov- 
eries with  those  made  in  the  foundation  of  the  embankment  walls, 
we  have  satisfied  ourselves  on  several  points :  — 

1.  That,  however  great  the  absorbing  power  of  mud  and  sand- 
banks is,  the  objects  are  not  so  deeply  hidden  as  to  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  man. 

"2.  That  the  i)ower  of  the  current  to  wash  lieavy  objects  down 
stream,  even  in  time  of  flood,  is  moderate.  A  fragment  of  the 
annals  of  the  Salii  palatini,  which  fell  or  was  thrown  into  the 
river  at  the  Sponda  della  Regola  towards  the  end  of  the  fifth 
century,  was  recovered  in  18W1,  .5.50  metres  below  that  point.  The 
fragment  had  traveled,  therefore,  at  the  slow  rate  of  39  metres  per 
century. 

3.  That  there  is  a  certain  chronological  regularity  in  the 
strata  of  sunken  objects,  each  stratum  corres})onding  to  one  of 
the  revolutions,  sieges,  and  political  disturbances  so  frequent  in 
the  history  of  Home.  The  higher  strata  are  contemporary  with 
the  siege  and  capture  of  the  city  by  General  Oudinot,  when 
thousands  of  "  improvised  "  war  weapons  were  thrown  into  the 
river  to  avoid  detection.  There  are  traces  of  the  disturbances 
of  1831,  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  of  the  Napoleonic  Avars. 
These  objects  are  more  curious  than  valuable.  The  real  wealth 
begins  with  the  layer  corresponding  to  the  Sacco  di  Roma  of  1527, 
not  to  speak  of  mediaeval  or  barbaric  invasions.  For  two  or  three 
years  the  average  of  coins  dredged  up  amounted  to  twelve  hun- 
dred per  month,  mostly  coppers  of  the  last  tM'o  centuries,  even 
of  popes  whose  reigns  were  peaceful  and  undisturbed.  How 
did  they  happen  to  be  there  ?  The  solution  of  the  mystery  lies, 
perhaps,  in  the  fact  that  the  dirt  collected  from  the  streets  or 
from  private  houses  was  thrown  daily  into  the  river  at  two  points, 
"la  Penna"  above  Ripetta,  and  S.  Giovanni  dei  Fiorentini.  To 
lose  money  in  the  streets  is  a  rare  occurrence,  but  at  home  it  hap- 
1  See  AncH-nt  Rome,  p.  257. 


28 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


pens  very  easily  :  coppers  may  drop  on  the  carpets  and  roll  under 

pieces  of  furniture,  and  when 
servants  sweep  the  rooms  the 
coins  may  get  mixed  up  with 
the  dust.  Such  refuse  has  been 
thrown  into  the  river  for 
many  centuries. 

4.  That  the  objects  sunk 
in  the  river  are  recovered  in 
good  condition,  whether  of 
terra-cotta,  or  marble,  or  metal, 
iroir  excluded.  Iron  not  only 
gets  rusty  and  almost  dis- 
solved in  water,  but  imparts 
to  marble  —  if  in  contact  with 
it  —  a  deep  reddish  hue,  which 
is  qiiite  characteristic  of  the 
Tiberine  scidpture.  Brass  Im- 
perial and  Republican  coins 
are  splendidly  preserved,  but 
W'ithout  "  patina,"  which 
makes  them  less  valuable  in 
tlie  market. 

I  can  give  no  better  evi- 
dence of  the  care  which  Old 
Father  Tiber  has  taken  of  the 
works  of  art  intrusted  to  him 
than  by  reproducing  liere  one 
of  the  marble  statues  found  in 
his  bed  not  long  ago.  This 
archaic  Apollo,  a  copy  of  a 
bronze  original,  is  now  exhib- 
ited in  a  cabinet  of  the  Museo 
delle  Terme  on  the  south  side 
of  the  quadrangle.  A  short 
notice  of  the  find  is  given 
in    the    "  Mittheilungen  "    of 

1891,  p.  802.     Compare  "  Notizie  degli  Scavi,"  1891,  pp.  287  and 

337 ;  Ilelbig's  "  Guide,"  vol.  ii.  p.  21-1,  n.  1028. 


Fig.  13.  —  Statue  found  in  the  Tiber. 


IX.  Cloac'.e  (drains).  —  The  hills  of  the  left  bank,  from  the 
Pincian  to  the  C'ajlian,  follow  one  another  so  as  to  make  three  val- 


CLOACA 


29 


leys,  each  having  its  o\Yn  outlet  for  spring,  rain,  and  waste  waters. 
The  northern  basin,  between  the  Pincian  and  the  Quirinal,  was 
di'ained  by  the  river  Petronia,  which  collected  the  Sallustian 
springs,  and  fell  into  the  Tiber  a  little  above  oui-  Ponte  Garibaldi ; 
the  middle  basin,  between  the  Quirinal  and  the  Esquiline,  by  a 
river  probably  called  Spinon,  which  collected  the  waters  of  the 
Vicus  Longus,  Vicus  Patricius,  and  the  Subura,  crossed  the  Argi- 
letum,  the  Forum,  and  the  Velabrum,  and  joined  the  Tiber  at  the 


Fig.  14.  —  The  Course  of  tlie  Cloaca  Maxima. 


present  mouth  of  tlie  Cloaca  ^Maxima  ;  the  southern  basin,  lietween 
the  Esquiline,  the  CcTelian,  and  the  Aventine.  by  a  third  river  (Xo- 
dinus),  :3G0()  metres  long.  After  receiving  eight  tributaries  from 
the  springs  of  Apollo,  of  the  Camoenaj,  of  ^lercury,  of  the  Piscina 
Publica,  etc.,  it  emptied  itself  into  the  Tiber  a  little  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima.     (See  map,  Fig.  1.) 

The  first  step  towards  the  regulation  of  these  three  rivers  was 
taken  even  before  the  advent  of  the  Tarquins.  Their  banks  were 
then  lined  with  great  square  blocks  of  stone,  leaving  a  channel 
about  5  feet  wide,  so  as  to  prevent  the  spreading  and  the  wander- 
ing of  flood-water,  and  provide  the  swampy  valleys  with  a  perma- 
nent drainage ;  but,  strange  to  say,  the  course  of  the  streams  was 
not  straightened  nor  shortened.  If  the  reader  looks  at  the  map 
above  (Fig.  14),  representing  the  course  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima 
tlirough  the  Argiletum  and  the  Velabrum,  he  will  find  it  so 
twisted  and  irregular  as  to  resemljle  an  Alpine  torrent  more  than 
a  drain  built  h\  skillful  Etruscan  engineers.  The  same  thing  may 
be  repeated  for  the  other  main  lines  of  drainage  in  the  valleys 
Sallustiana,  Murcia,  etc.  When  the  increase  of  the  population 
and  the  extension  of  the  city  bej'ond  the  boundaries  of  the  Pala- 
tine made  it  necessary  to  cover  those  channels  and  make  them  run 


30  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

underground,  it  was  too  late  to  think  of  straightening  their  course, 
because  their  banks  were  already  fixed  and  built  over. 

The  Roman  cloacae  have  been  overpraised.  It  is  certainly  a 
marvelous  fact  that  some  of  them  were  still  in  use  a  few  years 
ago,  after  a  lapse  of  twenty-six  centuries ;  but  they  bid  defiance 
to  modern  sanitary  principles.  First  of  all,  they  served  to  carry 
off  the  sewage  and  the  rain-water  together.  This  double  employ- 
ment made  it  necessary  to  have  large  openings  along  the  street, 
which  exposed  the  popidation  to  the  effluvia  of  the  sewers.  In 
the  third  place,  the  sewers  emptied  themselves  directly  into  the 
Tiber,  thus  polluting  its  waters,  which  were  vised  not  only  for 
bathing  but  also  for  drinking  purposes.  Only  six  years  ago  did 
the  Tiber  cease  to  be  the  cesspool  of  Rome.  It  must  also  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  "latrina"  of  Roman  houses  was  incon- 
veniently placed  next  the  kitchen,  and  the  same  cloaca  was  used 
for  the  sinks.  Against  such  great  dangers  to  public  and  private 
health  the  Romans  had  but  two  protections :  the  masses  of  water 
by  which  the  drains  were  constantly  Hushed,  and  the  hilly  nature 
of  the  city  ground,  which  allowed  them  to  give  the  drains  a  steep 
gradient. 

Drains  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Kings  or  of  the  Republic 
are  built  of  blocks  of  peperino  and  lapis  Gabinus  (sperone),  those 
of  the  Imperial  period  of  bricks.  Two  tiles,  placed  against  each 
other  in  a  slanting  position,  form  the  roof ;  the  floor  is  made  of 
a  large  tile  slightly  convex.     There  are  no  sluices  or  flood-gates. 

The  Cloaca  Maxima  and  tliat  of  the  Vallis  Murcia  (described 
in  Ancient  Rome.  p.  54 ;  and  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1892,  \i.  279)  are  by 
no  means  alone  in  respect  of  their  size,  length,  and  magnificence 
of  construction.  There  is  a  third,  discovered  by  I^nrico  Narducci 
in  the  ])lain  of  the  Circus  Flaminius,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to 
them.  The  section  which  Narducci  explored  in  1880  begins  at 
the  corner  of  Via  Paganica  with  the  Piazza  Mattel,  and  runs  in  a 
straight  line  to  the  Tiber,  by  the  Ponte  Garibaldi.  Its  side  walls 
are  built  of  blocks  of  lapis  Gabinus,  some  of  which  measure  45 
cubic  feet ;  the  arched  roof  is  made  of  five  blocks  only,  wedged 
together ;  the  floor  is  paved  like  that  of  a  Roman  road.  It  runs 
at  the  considerable  depth  of  9.53  metres  under  the  modern  city. 
(See  Bull.  Inst..  1881,  p.  209.) 

We  must  remember  that  these  great  sewers  were  built  through 
marshes  and  ponds,  and  generally  through  a  soil  soaked  with 
spring-water.  Rome  may  be  said  to  be  floating  over  this  subter- 
ranean alluvium  even  now.     In  the  sixty  days  required  to  build 


CLOACA  31 

the  sewer  of  the  Via  del  Babuino  in  1875,  650,000  cubic  metres  of 
water  were  absorbed  by  seven  steam  pumps.  The  inundation  of 
the  Coliseum  in  187S  could  not  possibly  be  got  under  control  : 
powerful  engines  only  lowered  it  by  a  few  inches,  and  it  cost  tlie 
city  nearly  one  million  lire  to  provide  the  Coliseum  with  a  regular 
outlet. 

The  level  of  the  subterranean  flood  has  risen  since  Roman 
times.  In  the  foundations  of  the  Banca  di  Roma  and  of  tlie 
Palazzo  Canale,  on  either  side  of  the  Via  Poli,  the  pavement  of  a 
street  was  found  under  two  feet  of  water.  The  cellars  of  the  wine 
docks,  discovered  in  1877  in  the  gardens  of  la  Farnesina  (celUe 
riiiarice  Nova  et  Arruntiana),  were  flooded  up  to  the  key  of  their 
vaulted  roofs.  The  chefs-d'oeuvre  of  Saitic  art,  discovered  by 
Tranquilli  in  1858  in  the  sacred  area  of  the  Iseum,  near  the  ajxse 
of  la  Minerva,  were  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  peristyle  tliree  feet 
under  water.  An  excavation  made  by  Parker  in  18(J9  in  Cara- 
calla's  Baths,  by  SS.  Nereo  and  Achiileo,  in  the  Via  di  Porta  8.  Se- 
bastiano,  had  to  be  given  up,  although  successful,  in  conseijuence 
of  the  invasion  of  spring-water. 

In  the  many  hundred  antique  drains  discovered  in  my  time,  I 
have  never  seen  a  sign  of  communication  with  the  houses  lining 
tlie  streets  through  whicli  the  drains  passed.  All  the  side  chan- 
nels which  emi)ty  into  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  from  the  Forum  Au- 
gustum  to  the  Tiber,  belong  to  streets  or  public  buildings  —  none 
to  private  dwellings.  The  same  observation  has  been  made  with 
regai'd  to  the  sewers  of  the  Escjuiline,  Viminal,  etc.  This  fact  would 
lead  us  to  believe  that  cesspools,  or  pozzl  neri,  were  more  popu- 
lar in  R(mie  than  the  latrina,  communicating  directly  with  the 
public  sewei-.  Yet  only  one  pozzo  ncro  has  been  found  in  our 
excavations.  It  is  described  in  the  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1892,  p.  285. 
In  the  same  periodical,  1873,  p.  24:$,  pi.  ii.,  .3,  there  is  a  description 
and  the  design  of  a  latrina  discovered  in  the  drilling  grounds  of 
the  Praetorians,  Via  Magenta.,  No.  2.  Fig.  15  (next  page)  repre- 
sents the  latrina  annexed  to  the  guest-rooms  of  the  Villa  Adri- 
an a. 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Antlke  Denkmdler  of  the  German  Arch.  Inst.,  vol.  i.,  1889, 
taf.  xxxvii.  — £«//.  arch,  com.,  1872,  p.  279;  1890,  p.  95,  pis.  7,  8.  —  Pietro 
NardiK'ci,  Focpintura  della  clttu  di  Roma  sulla  siniglra  del  Tevere,  Rome,  1884; 
and  Roma  notterranea,  Ulustraz.  della  cloaca  massima,  1885.  —  Codex  Ixxv.  68, 
in  the  Kinfj's  Lihvarv,  B.  M.,  p.  15.  — Theodor  Schreiber,  Berichte  der  sacks. 
GesellschaJ't  der  IViss.,  1885,  p.  78.  — Rudolfo  Lanciaui,  Ancient  Rome,  p.  54. 


32 


GENERAL    INFORM  A  TION 


Fig.  15.  —  The  Latrina  annexed  to  the  Guest-Rooms  of  tl 


X.   The   Quarries    from  which    Rome   was   built.  —  The 

materials  used  in  Roman  constructions  are  the  lapis  ruber  (tufa) ; 
tlie  lapis  Alhanus  (peperino)  ;  the  lapis  Gabinus  (sperone)  ;  the 
lapis  Tiburtinus  (travertino)  ;  the  silex  (selce) ;  and  bricks  and 
tiles  of  various  kinds.  The  cement  was  composed  of  pozzolana 
(0.67)  and  lime  (0.33).  Imported  marbles  came  into  fashion 
towards  the  end  of  the  Republic,  and  became  soon  after  the  pride 
and  glory  of  Rome.  . 

A.  Tufa  (lapis  ruber).  —  The  only  material  which  the  first 
builders  of  Rome  found  at  hand  was  the  volcanic  conglomerate 
called  tufa.  The  (quality  of  the  stone  used  in  those  early  days 
was  far  from  perfect.  The  walls  of  the  Palatine  hill  and  of  the 
Capitoline  citadel  were  built  of  material  quarried  on  the  spot  — 
a  mixture  of  charred  pumice-stones  and  reddish  volcanic  sand. 
The  quarries  of  the  Palatine  M-ill  be  described  in  the  proper 
place.  Those  used  for  the  fortifications  of  the  Capitol  were 
located  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  towards  the  Argiletum,  and  were  so 
important  as  to  give  their  name,  Lautumice,  to  the  neighboring 
district.  It  is  probable  that  the  pi'ison  called  Tullianum,  from  a 
jet  of  water,  tullus,  which  sprang  from  the  rock,  was  originally  a 
portion  of  this  quarry.     The  tufa  blocks  employed   by  Servius 


THE    QUARRIES  33 

Tullius  for  the  building  of  the  city  walls,  and  of  the  agger,  ai> 
pear  to  be  of  three  (qualities  —  yellowish,  reddish,  and  gray;  the 
first,  soft  and  easily  broken  up,  seems  to  have  been  quarried  from 
the  Little  Aventnie,  near  the  church  of  S.  Saba.  The  galleries 
of  this  ([uarry,  much  disfigured  by  mediaeval  and  modern  use,  can 
be  followed  to  a  considerable  distance,  although  the  collapsing 
of  the  vaults  makes  it  dangerous  to  visit  them.  I  have  entered 
these  recesses  only  twice,  with  the  late  ^Ir.  J.  H.  Parker,  while 
trying  to  rediscover  the  channel  of  the  Aqua  Appia,  first  seen  and 
described  by  Raffaello  Fabretti  about  1675.  I  am  not  able  to  say 
where  Servius  found  the  reddish  tufa  (Cervara?).  The  quarries 
of  the  third  quality  were,  or  I'ather  one  of  them  was,  discovered 
on  February  7,  1^72,  in  the  Vigna  Querini.  outside  the  Porta  8. 
Lorenzo,  near  the  first  milestone  of  the  Vicolo  di  Valle  Cupa.  It 
was  a  surface  (juarry,  comprising  five  trenches  IG  feet  wide,  J)  feet 
deep.  Some  of  the  blocks,  already  scjuared,  were  lying  on  the  floor 
of  the  trenches,  others  were  detached  on  two  or  tliree  sides  oidy, 
the  size  of  others  was  sinqily  traced  on  the  rock  by  vertical  or 
horizontal  lines.  (See  illustration  in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  18S8,  pis. 
i.,  ii.,  figs.  3-G.)  This  tufa,  better  known  by  the  name  of  cap])el- 
laccio,  is  very  bad.  The  only  buildings  in  which  it  was  used, 
Itesides  the  inner  wall  of  the  Servian  agger,  are  the  platform  of 
the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus,  in  the  gardens  of  the  German 
Embassy,  and  the  puticuli  in  the  burial-grounds  of  the  Esqui- 
line.  Its  use  must  have  been  given  up  before  the  end  of  the 
period  of  the  Kings,  in  consecpience  of  the  discovery  of  better 
quarries  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber,  at  the  foot  of  the  liills 
now  called  Monte  Verde.  A  description  of  these  last,  still  in  use, 
can  be  found  in  the  — 

Nnthie  (h';/l!  Scnv!,  188(5,  p.  454;  1888,  p.  1.30;  188!t,  pp.  71  and  24:3.—  AV//. 
arch,  com.,  i892,  p.  288.  —  MittheUungen,  1891,  p.  14!i. 

They  cover  a  space  about  one  mile  in  length  and  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  wide  on  eacli  side  of  the  valley  of  Pozzo  Pantaleo.  In  fact, 
this  valle}-,  which  runs  from  the  Via  Portuensis  towards  the  lake 
of  the  Villa  Pamphili,  seems  to  be  artificial ;  I  mean,  produced  by 
the  extraction  of  the  rock  by  millions  of  cubic  metres  in  the 
course  of  twenty-four  centuries.  If  the  work  of  the  ancient 
quarrymen  could  be  freed  from  the  loo.se  material  which  conceals 
it  from  view,  we  should  possess  within  a  few  minutes'  di'ive  from 
the  Porta  Portese  a  reproduction  of  the  famous  mines  of  El  ]Ma- 
sarah.  with  beds  of  rock  cut  into  steps  and  terraces,  with  roads 


34  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

and  lanes,  shafts,  inclines,  underground  passages,  and  outlets  for 
the  discluirge  of  rain-water.  The  cuttings  on  either  side  show  two 
strata  of  tufa :  the  upper,  8  metres  thick,  is  a  very  hard  ash-col- 
ored rock  resembling  in  texture  the  pudding-stone  ;  the  lower,  of 
a  light  red  color  and  less  comjaact,  is  fractured  by  seams  and  veins, 
so  that  it  cannot  be  obtained  in  large  blocks ;  and  as  the  purpose 
of  the  Romans  was  to  obtain  cubes  from  3  to  5  feet  long,  as  shown 
by  a  few  left  on  the  spot,  they  used  the  lower  or  reddish  stone 
only  to  make  prisms  for  reticulated  masonry.  The  gallei'ies  of 
the  qiiarry  vary  in  size  from  10  to  20  feet,  and  their  floor  is  lev- 
eled so  as  to  conduct  the  rain-water  to  one  central  outlet,  running 
towards  the  brook  of  Pozzo  Pantaleo.  AVhen  a  (piarry  had  given 
out,  its  galleries  were  filled  up  with  the  refuse  of  the  neighboring 
ones  —  chips  left  over  after  the  squaring  of  the  blocks  ;  so  that,  in 
many  cases,  the  color  and  texture  of  the  chips  do  not  correspond 
with  those  of  the  quarry  in  which  they  are  found.  Tins  layer  of 
refuse,  transformed  by  time  into  humus,  and  worked  upon  by  hu- 
man and  atmospheric  forces,  has  given  the  valley  a  different  aspect, 
so  that  it  looks  as  if  it  were  the  work  not  of  quarrymen,  but  of 
nature.  Some  of  the  abandoned  galleries  were  transformed  into 
tombs  and  columbaria.  One  raised  by  Aurelius  Niketa  to  his 
daughter  iElianetis  contains  the  following  inscription  :  Fossor,  vide 
ne  fodias !  Deus  inaynus  oculus  hahet.  Vide,  et  tu'JiHos  hales. 
Which  means,  "  Quarryman,  do  not  approach  this  tomb :  the 
great  God  watches  thee ;  remember  that  thou  also  hast  children." 
These  words  prove  that  tombs  and  (juarries  were  contemporary 
and  not  very  far  apart. 

Tufa  may  be  found  used  in  many  existing  monuments  of  an- 
cient Rome,  such  as  the  drains  of  the  middle  and  southern  basin 
of  the  left  bank,  the  channels  and  arches  of  the  Marcia  and  Anio 
vetus,  the  Servian  walls,  the  temples  of  Fortuna  Virilis,  of  Her- 
cules Magnus  Gustos,  the  Rostra,  tlie  embankment  of  the  Tiber, 
etc.  The  largest  and  most  magnificent  quarries  in  the  suburban 
district  are  the  so-called  Grotte  della  Cervara.  No  words  can 
convey  an  idea  of  their  size  and  of  the  regularity  of  their  plan. 
They  seem  to  be  the  work  of  a  fanciful  architect  who  has  hewn 
out  of  the  rock  halls  and  galleries,  courts  and  vestibules,  and  imi- 
tated the  forms  of  an  Assyrian  palace.  The  quarries  of  La  Ger- 
vara,  at  the  fiftli  milestone  of  the  Via  Gollatina,  are  described 
by  Strabo  (lib.  v.). 

B.  Pkpkrixo  (lapis  Albanus).  —  For  the  study  of  the  peperino 
mines,  which  contain  a  stone  special  to  tlie  Alban  district,  formed 


THE    QUARRIES  35 

by  the  action  of  hot  water  on  gray  volcanic  cinders,  the  reader 
should  follow  on  foot  the  line  of  the  new  Albano  railway,  from  the 
place  called  II  Sassone  to  the  town  of  Marino.  Many  of  the 
valleys  in  this  district,  now  made  beautiful  by  vineyards  and 
oliveyards,  owe  their  existence  to  the  pickaxe  of  the  Roman 
stonecutter,  like  the  valley  of  Pozzo  Pantaleo.  The  most  curious 
sight  is  a  dolmen  or  isolated  rock  10  metres  high,  left  in  the 
centre  of  one  of  the  quarries  to  certify  the  thickness  of  the  bed 
of  rock  excavated.  In  fact,  the  whole  district  is  very  interesting 
both  to  the  archaeologist  and  to  the  paysaffiste.  The  mines  of  Ma- 
rino, still  worked  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  railway  station,  would 
count,  like  the  Grotte  della  Cervara,  among  the  wonders  of  the 
C'ampagna,  were  they  known  to  the  student  as  they  deserve  to  be. 

If  the  discovery  of  a  piece  of  "  xs  grave  signatum  "  in  a  seam 
of  peperino  near  the  Ponte  di  S.  Gennaro,  between  Civita  Lavinia 
and  Velletri,  could  be  proved  true  (by  the  exhilution  not  of  the 
l)iece  alone,  but  of  its  mould  on  the  rock  itself,  which  has  not  been 
done  yet),  the  stone  would  ap]iear  to  be  of  modern  formation. 

The  principal  Roman  buildings  in  which  the  lapis  Albanus 
has  been  used  are:  the  Claudian  acpieduct,  the  Cloaca  Maxima, 
tlie  temples  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina,  of  Cybele,  of  the  Eventus 
Bomis,  of  Neptune,  the  inclosure  wall  of  the  Forum  Augustum, 
Forum  Ti'ansitorium,  and  Forum  Pacis,  the  Porticus  Argonauta- 
rum,  Porticus  Pompeii,  the  Ustrinum  of  the  Appian  Way,  etc. 
The  sarcopliagus  of  Cornelius  Scipio  Barbatus  in  the  Vatican 
museum,  and  the  tomb  of  the  Tibicines  in  the  JNIuseo  Municipale 
al  Celio  are  also  of  this  stone. 

C.  Travertixo  (lapis  Tibiirtinus).  —  (Quarried  in  the  plains  of 
Tivoli  at  places  now  called  Le  Caprine,  Casal  Bernini,  and  II  Barco. 
This  last  was  reopened  aftei"  an  interval  of  many  centuries  by 
Count  (i.  Brazza,  brother  of  the  African  explorer.  Lost  in  the 
wilderness  and  overgrown  with  shrubs,  it  had  not  been  examined, 
I  believe,  since  the  visit  of  Brocchi.  It  can  be  reached  by  stop- 
ping at  the  station  of  the  Aqute  Albiilse,  on  the  Tivoli  line,  and 
following  the  ancient  road  which  led  to  the  works.  This  road, 
twice  as  wide  as  the  Appian  Way,  is  flanked  by  substructures,  and 
is  not  paved,  but  macadamized.  Parallel  with  it  runs  an  aqueduct 
which  supplied  the  works  with  motive  power,  derived  probably 
from  the  sulphur  springs.  There  are  also  remains  of  tombs,  one 
of  which,  octagonal  in  shape,  serves  as  a  foundation  to  the  farm- 
house del  Barco. 

The  most  remarkable  monument  of  the  whole  group   is   the 


36  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Roman  quarry  froui  which  five  and  a  half  million  cubic  metres 
of  travertine  have  been  extracted,  as  proved  by  the  measurement 
of  the  hollow  space  between  the  two  opposite  vertical  sides.  That 
this  is  the  most  important  ancient  quarry  of  travertine,  and  the 
largest  one  used  by  the  Romans,  is  proved,  in  the  first  place,  by 
its  immense  size.  The  sides  show  a  frontage  of  more  than  two 
and  a  half  kilometres ;  the  surface  amounts  to  500,000  square 
metres.  The  sides  are  quite  perpendicular,  and  have  the  peculiar- 
ity of  projecting  buttresses,  at  an  angle  of  90°.  Some  of  these 
buttresses  are  isolated  on  three  sides,  and  still  preserve  the 
grooves,  more  or  less  deep,  by  means  of  which  they  could  be 
separated  from  the  solid  mass  ;  these  grooves  vary  in  dejith  from 
50  centimetres  to  2  metres,  and  look  fresh  and  sharp,  as  if 
the  quarry  had  been  abandoned  only  a  short  time  ago.  The 
second  argument  is  furnished  by  the  indirect  traces  of  the  work 
of  man,  which  show  that  the  excavation  must  at  least  be  many 
centuries  old.  In  order  to  keep  the  bottom  of  the  works  clean 
and  free  for  the  movenient  of  the  carts,  for  the  action  of  the 
cranes,  and  for  the  manoeuvres  of  the  workmen,  the  chips,  or 
useless  product  of  the  squaring  of  the  blocks,  were  transported  to 
a  great  distance,  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Anio,  and  there  piled 
up  to  a  great  height.  This  is  the  origin  of  that  chain  of  hills 
which  runs  parallel  to  the  river,  and  of  whose  artificial  formation 
no  one,  as  far  as  I  know,  had  the  least  suspicion.  One  of  these 
hills,  visible  from  every  point  of  the  neighbo)'ing  district,  from 
Hadrian's  villa  as  well  as  from  the  Suljihur  Baths,  is  elliptical  in 
shape,  22  metres  high,  90  metres  long,  and  65  metres  wide.  It 
can  with  reason  be  compared  with  our  Testaccio.  It  is  easy  to 
imagine  how  immense  must  have  been  the  number  of  blocks  cut 
from  the  Cava  del  Barco  during  the  period  of  the  formation  of 
this  hill  alone.  Another  proof  of  the  antiquity  of  the  quarry,  and 
of  its  abandonment  from  Imperial  times  down  to  our  own  day,  is 
given  by  this  fact.  The  Aqute  Albulse,  the  most  copious  sulphur 
springs  of  central  Italy,  collected  into  canals  by  the  Romans  and 
subjected  to  a  scientific  hydraulic  regime,  were  allowed  free  play 
from  the  first  barbaric  invasion  up  to  the  sixteenth  centuiy,  when 
Cardinal  Ippolito  d'  Este  gathered  them  again  into  the  channel 
which  takes  its  name  from  him,  and  w^hich  is  in  use  at  the  present 
day.  In  this  long  period  of  abandonment  it  seems  that  the  prin- 
cipal branch  of  the  wandering  waters  directed  its  course  towards 
the  Cava  del  Barco,  leaping  from  the  rim  of  the  nortli  vertical 
side  into  the  chasm  below.     This  fall  of  water,  saturated  with 


THE    Qr ARMIES 


37 


carbonate  and  sulpliate  of  lime,  and  la.sting  for  many  centuries,  pro- 
duced the  following  effect.  The  north  wall  was  concealed  under 
a  hard  chalky  incrustation,  and  transformed  into  a  slope  with  an 
inclination  of  45°  or  50°.  Tliis  stratum  of  recent  formation  is, 
on  an  average,  H  metres  wide  at  the  base,  and  only  a  few  centi- 
metres at  the  top.  Stonecuttei's  in  the  quarry  are  now  obliged  to 
remove  this  crust  before  reaching  the  ancient  walls  of  travertine, 
which  still  preserve  the  traces  of  the  blows  of  the  Roman  pickaxe. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  quarry  we  meet  with  arother  phenomenon. 
The  stratum  of  chips  which  covers  it  has  been  cemented  and 
pasted  over  by  chalky  sediments,  forming  beds  and  layers  of  a 
hard  breccia  resembling  the  pudding-stone.  The  southern  walls 
of  the  quaiTy,  on  the  contrary,  are  free  from  incrustations,  a.s  they 
have  never  been  in  contact  with  the  sulphur  water. 

The  system  now  followed  in  qnarr\'ing  tlie  l>locks  is  the  same 
as  that  which  prevailed  in   old  times.     The    fon-nian  ascertains 


r^ 


Fig.  16.  —  The  Quarries  of  Travertine,  Cava  del  Barco. 

the  weak  point  of  the  rocky  mass,  and  the  vertical  or  horizontal 
line  of  the  seams,  and  directs  his  men  to  jilace  steel  wedges  alono- 
the  weak  line,  and  hammer  them  simultaneously,  the  moveiuent 
being  timed  to  the  rh\^hm  of  a  song.  This  illustration,  from  a 
photograph  which  I  took  in  December,  1893,  explains  the  process 


38  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

better  than  any  description  could  do.  The  large  block  in  the 
foreground  has  already  been  detached  on  four  sides,  and  the  men 
are  busy  placing  the  steel  wedges  on  the  weak  seam  at  the  bottom. 
I  need  not  say  that  as  many  men  are  required  to  hammer  as 
there  are  wedges.  Sometimes  the  task  is  accomplished  at  the  first 
stroke,  sometimes  it  requires  half  an  hour's  work. 

D.  SiLEX  (selce).  —  Used  for  rubble-work  in  small  fragments, 
and  for  paving  streets  and  roads  in  larger  pieces  of  iientagonal 
shape.  The  stone  was  quarried  from  four  lava  streams  which  had 
flowed  from  the  Alban  volcanoes  in  the  direction  of  Rome  (Capo 
di  Bove,  Acqua  Acetosa,  Borghetto,  and  Monte  Falcone),  and  from 
one  stream  of  the  Sabatine  range  (S.  Maria  di  Galera).  The 
working  of  the  quarries,  the  cutting  and  shaping  of  the  paving- 
stones,  the  laying  in  and  repairing  of  pavements,  was  intrusted 
to  a  large  body  of  trained  men,  organized  in  companies  and  di- 
rected by  government  officials.'  The  material  was  kept  in  store 
in  a  great  state  building  named  Castra  Silicariorum,  which  may 
have  served  also  as  barracks  for  the  Silicarii.  The  institution  is 
still  flourishing  under  the  name  of  "Magazzino  dei  Selci."  The 
present  works  occupy  a  large  tract  of  land  north  of  the  Protestant 
cemetery  in  the  plains  of  Testaccio. 

Pumice-stone  was  used  occasionally  by  Roman  masons  to  dimin- 
ish the  weight  and  lateral  pressure  of  great  vaulted  ceilings,  as  in 
the  baths  of  C'aracalla. 

LiTEKATURE.  —  The  introductory  chapters  of  W\([A\eUm'ii  Remains  of  An- 
cient Rome  (2d  ed.  1892),  dealing  with  the  site  and  sreneral  features  of  the  city, 
with  the  materials  of  which  it  is  built,  and  with  the  methods  of  construction, 
are  the  best  ever  written  on  the  subject.  The  author  shows  himself  a  special- 
ist of  unrivaled  knowledge.  So  thoroughly  has  he  mastered  the  technicalities 
of  ancient  masonry  and  stonework  that  he  makes  clear  and  almost  agreeable  a 
subject  which  students  have  usually  avoided  as  dry  and  difHcnlt  to  understand. 
An  abridged  memoir  on  the  same  subject,  issued  by  the  same  author,  is  to  be 
found  in  vol.  xli.  of  the  Ai-clHeolof/in,  1888:  "On  the  Chief  Methods  of  Con- 
struction used  in  Ancient  Rome." 

Compare  also,  Giovanni  Brocchi,  Delia  stafo  Jisico  del  svulo  di  Roma,  1820, 
p.  10!);  Antonio  Nibhv,  Dei  mnteriaU  imjrrer/ftti  nelle  fahhriche  di  Roma,delle 
cosli-Kzioni,  e  dello  stile  (in  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  234);  Faustino  Corsi,  Delle 
pietre  antiche,  Rome,  1845,  pp.  11-76. 

XI.  Bricks.  —  There  are  three  collections  of  brick-stamps  in 
Rome  :  one,  of  little  value,  in  the  Kircherian  museum ;  the  second 

1  The  procurator  ad  silices,  cir  procurator  silicum  viarum  sacrce  urhis,  subject 
to  the  authority  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Works.  (See  Corpus  Inscriptionum, 
vi.  1598;  and  Orelli-Henzen,  n.  6519.) 


BRICKS  39 

in  the  last  room  of  the  Vatican  Library,  past  the  "  Nozze  aldo- 
braudiue ;  "  the  third  and  best  in  tiie  INIiiseo  Municipale  al  Celio. 
This  last  contains  over  a  thousand  specimens,  and  a  unique  set 
of  the  products  of  Roman  kilns.  In  fact,  the  tirst  hall  of  the 
Museo  is  set  apart  exclusively  for  the  study  of  ancient  building 
and  decorative  materials. 

Roman  liricks  were  square,  oblong,  triangular,  or  round,  the 
latter  being  used  only  to  build  columns  in  the  Pompeian  style. 
The  square  species  comprises  the  tcfjukv  hlpcdales,  of  0.59  metre  x 
(K.ISJ;  the  teyuUe  sesquipedales,  of  0.45  metre  X  0.45;  and  the 
Idlercull  bessales,  used  in  hypocausts,  of  0.'J"2  metre  X  0.22.  Arches 
were  built  of  a  variety  of  the  hij)C(/(iles,  of  the  same  length,  but  only 
(1.22  in  width,  and  slightly  wedged.  The  triangular  bricks  were 
obtained  by  cutting  diagonally  a  liijidn  Iwssalh  witii  a  wooden  rule 
or  a  string  before  it  was  put  into  the  kiln.  T]u>  largest  bricks 
discovered  in  my  time  measure  1.05  metre  in  length.  They  were 
set  into  an  arch  of  one  of  the  great  stairs  leading  to  tiie  avenue  or 
boulevard,  established  in  Inqtciial  times  on  tlie  lop  of  the  agger 
of  Servius  (railway  station). 

Roman  l)ricks  aic  very  often  stamped  with  a  seal,  the  legend 
of  which  contains  tlie  names  of  the  owner  and  manager  of  the 
kihis,  of  tlie  maker  of  the  tile,  of  the  merchant  intrusted  with  tlie 
sale  of  the  products,  and  of  the  consuls  under  whose  term  of  office 
the  bricks  were  made.  These  indications  are  not  necessarily  found 
all  in  one  seal. 

The  most  inq)oi'tant  of  them  is  tlie  consular  date,  because  it 
hel|is  tlie  student  to  determine,  within  certain  limits,  the  date  of 
tJH^  l)uildiiig  itself.  The  rule,  however,  is  far  from  being  absolute, 
and  before  iixing  the  date  of  a  Roman  structure  from  that  of  its 
brick  stanq)S  one  must  take  into  eonsideratitni  many  other  points 
of  circumstantial  evidence. 

When  we  examine,  for  instance,  the  grain  warehouses  at  Ostia, 
or  Hadrian's  villa  at  Tivoli,  and  find  that  their  walls  have  never 
undergone  repairs,  that  their  masonry  is  characteristic  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  second  century,  that  their  bricks  bear  the  dates  of 
Hadrian's  age  and  no  others,  we  may  I'est  assured  that  the  stamps 
s])eak  the  truth.  Tlieir  evidence  is,  in  such  a  case,  conclusive. 
Rut  if  the  l)ricks  are  variously  dated,  or  bear  the  names  of  various 
kilns,  and  not  of  one  or  two  only,  then  their  value  as  an  evidence 
of  the  date  of  a  building  is  diminished,  if  not  lost  altogether. 

The  following  case,  derived  from  personal  experience,  will  ex- 
plain the  point.     Professor  Jordan,  in  a  remarkable  speech  deliv- 


40  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

ered  on  April  25,  1884,  at  the  German  Institute,  attributed  the 
house  of  the  Vestals  to  the  age  of  Hadrian,  because  he  had  found 
a  stamp  of  Domitius  Tullus  (a.  d.  59-95)  on  the  south  wing  of 
the  atrium  ;  three  of  Cn.  Domitius  Clemens  (111-128)  in  the  stairs 
leading  to  the  first  floor ;  two  of  Rutilius  Lupus  (110-122)  in  one 
of  the  cells  of  the  first  floor ;  and  so  on.^  Yet  there  was  no  doubt 
in  my  mind  that  the  building  was  renewed  from  the  foundation, 
and  on  a  different  plan,  by  Septimius  Severus  and  Julia  Domna, 
and  tliat  Hadrian  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  was  able  to  prove 
the  case  so  clearly  -  that  Jordan's  theory  was  abandoned,  and  my 
contention  as  to  the  date  was  adopted.  The  presence  of  bricks  of 
Hadrian's  time  can  be  easily  explained.  When  Severus  undertook 
the  reconstruction  of  the  house  of  the  Vestals  and  of  the  whole 
adjoining  quarter,  which  had  been  devastated  by  the  fire  of  Corn- 
mod  us,  he  began  by  leveling  to  the  ground  the  remains  of  the 
buildings  which  had  partly  withstood  the  violence  of  the  flames. 
The  materials  so  saved  were  put  aside  and  used  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Atrium  Vestae. 

The  circular  seals  have  often  a  symbol  in  the  centre  —  a  figure 
of  a  god  or  a  goddess,  a  leaf,  a  fruit,  etc.  Sometimes  the  symbol 
has  a  phonetic  value.  Thus  we  find  the  image  of  the  wolf  im- 
pressed on  the  tiles  of  INI.  Rutilius  Lupus ;  of  the  wild  boar  on 
those  of  Flavins  Aper  ;  of  the  eagle  on  those  of  Aquilia  Sozomena ; 
the  wreath  {(rTf<p6.vn)  on  those  of  C.  Jiilius  Stephanus,  etc. 

The  name  of  the  building  for  which  the  bricks  were  destined 
appears  only  in  three  seals  :  Castris  Pra'toris,  "  for  the  prsetorian 
camp;"  Partus  Atu/usli,  "for  the  Claudian  harbor  at  Ostia ;  "  and 
Partus  Traiani,  "  for  the  harbor  of  Civitavecchia." 

Brick-kilns  were  called  figUnct.,  theu"  sections  or  workshops 
ojficince.  The  kilns  were  named  either  after  their  owner,  Ac'dia- 
nce,  Fulviance,  etc. ;  from  their  being  situated  in  a  district,  Sala- 
renses,  de  via  Aurelia,  etc.;  or  from  the  street  on  which  they  were 
placed,  a  Pila  alta,  ah  Euripa,  ad  Mercurium  felicem.  It  is  possi- 
ble, however,  that  some  fanciful  name  might  have  been,  selected 
without  any  reference  to  the  owner  or  to  the  site  of  the  works. 
The  sheds  under  which  the  materials  were  kept  ready  for  sale  or 
for  shijiment  were  called  horrea  and  partus  respectively. 

The  legends  sometimes  show  curious  mistakes  of  spelling  :  opup 
for  opus;  phi</([mi^.)  iov  Jig  (\ms^)  ;  pradia  ior  pra'dia,  etc. 

The  bricks,  again,  occasionally  bear  curious  signs,  such  as  foot- 
marks of  chickens,  dogs,  or  pigs,  which  stepped  over  them  while 
1  See  Bull.  Inst.,  1884,  p.  92.  2  Jhid,^  p.  145. 


BRICKS  41 

still  fresh,  impressions  of  coins  and  medals,  words  or  sentences 
scratched  with  a  nail,  etc.  A  bricklayer,  who  had  perhaps  seen 
better  times  in  his  youth,  wrote  on  a  tegula  bipedalis  the  first 
verse  of  the  ^neid,  "  Anna  virnmque  cano,"  etc. 

Names  of  murdered  Emperors  were  sometimes  struck  off  the 
stamp,  like  that  of  Commodus  in  No.  541,  b  (Corpus  Inscriptio- 
niim,  XV.  1).  After  the  murder  of  Geta,  the  seal  avggg  •  nnn, 
which  meant  "  of  our  three  Emjierors,  Severus,  Caracalla,  and 
Geta,"  was  changed  into  AVGG//iNN/y/  by  the  erasure  of  the  third 
G  and  of  the  third  N. 

Antiquarians  have  discussed  the  question  whether  the  seals 
were  cast  in  metal  or  carved  in  hard  wood,  or  whether  they  were 
made  up  of  movable  types,  incased  in  a  metal  frame.  The  fact 
that  letters  upside  down  are  not  uncommon  (like  sacckssi  for 
svccESSi)  has  been  adduced  to  prove  that  the  types  were  mova- 
ble; but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  specimens  of  seals  cast 
bodily  in  lead  or  bronze,  such  as  those  found  in  the  Tiber  in 
1879  (Visconti,  Bidl.  arch,  com.,  1879,  pp.  197,  212).  There  is  a 
stamp  (No.  1440,  a)  in  which  the  name  of  the  consul  balbin 
has  been  changed  into  that  of  brttio  (Brittio)  so  imperfectly 
that  both  can  be  read  at  the  same  time.  In  another  (No.  68,  d) 
the  letter  s  in  the  name  ravsi,  omitted  by  the  engraver  of  the 

seal,  has  been  added  so,  t-ravi.  This  expedient  shows  that  the 
missing  letter  coul<l  not  have  been  wedged  into  its  proper  place. 
We  must  discredit,  however,  the  idea  that  movable  types  were 
not  known  to  the  ancients.  Albert  Dumont  (Inscriptions  ccra- 
miques  de  Grece,  pp.  40  and  -V.)'))  brings  strong  evidence  in  favor 
of  it;  and  A.  iNIilchhoefer  (Ann.  Inst.,  1879,  p.  90)  has  traced  the 
use  of  sucli  types  in  an  Etruscan  sarcophagus. 

The  great  manufacturing  centre  of  Roman  bricks  was  the  dis- 
trict between  the  via?  Triumphalis,  Cornelia,  and  the  two  Aurelife, 
now  called  the  Monti  della  Creta,  which  includes  the  southern 
slojjes  of  the  Vatican  ridge  and  the  northern  of  the  Janiculum. 
Here  also,  as  at  Pozzo  Pantaleo,  the  traces  of  the  work  of  man 
are  simply  gigantic.  The  valleys  del  Gelsomino,  delle  Fornaci, 
del  Vicolo  delle  Cave,  della  Balduina,  and  a  section  of  the  Val 
d'  Inferno,  are  not  the  work  of  nature,  but  the  result  of  excava- 
tions for  "  creta  figulina,"  which  began  2300  years  ago,  and  have 
never  been  interrupted  since.  A  walk  through  the  Monti  della 
Creta  will  teach  the  student  many  interesting  things.  The  best 
point  of  observation  is  a  bluff  between  the  Vicolo  della  Cave  and 


42  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

the  Vicolo  del  Gelsomino,  marked  with  the  word  "  Ruderi "  and 
with  the  altitude  of  75  metres,  in  the  military  map  of  the  suburbs. 
The  bluff  rises  o7  metres  above  the  floor  of  the  biick-kilns  of  the 
Gelsomino. 

There  were  other  important  establishments  in  the  plains  of 
the  Tiber  (I'rati  di  Castello,  Monti  della  Greta  beyond  8.  Paolo) 
and  of  the  Anio  (Ponte  Salario,  Givitas  Figlina),  to  whicli  the 
alluvial  marls  furnished  the  "materia  prima." 

lionuxn  bricks  were  exported  to  all  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean :  they  have  been  found  in  the  Riviera,  on  the  coasts  of 
Venetia,  of  Narbonensis,  of  Spain  and  Africa,  and  in  the  island 
of  Sardinia.  One  brick  from  Syria  (No.  2415)  and  two  fi'om  the 
gulf  of  Genoa  (Nos.  2412,  241o)  have  been  j^icked  up  in  Rome, 
l)ut  they  must  have  been  transported  liere  incidentally  by  ships  in 
ballast. 

The  brick-making  business  must  have  been  very  remunerative, 
if  we  judge  from  the  rank  and  wealth  of  many  personages  who 
had  an  interest  in  it.  Many  names  of  Emperors  appear  in  brick- 
stamps,  and  even  more  of  Empresses  and  princesses  of  the  Imperial 
family.     (See  index  to  de  Rossi's  Iscrizioni  doliari,  pp.  525,  527.) 

LiTERATUKE.  —  Gaetaiio  Marini,  Iscrizioni  dulia rl jmbliciite  dal  comm.  G.B. 
de.  Rosd,  can  annotazioni  di  Enrico  Dressel.  Rome,  1884.  —  Descemet,  3Iar- 
ques  de  briqnes  relatives  a  une  ■partie  de  la  (/ens  Dumitla  (Bibl.  des  Ecoles  fr. 
d'Atheiies  et  de  Rome,  vol.  xv.  p.  2) ;  and  Inscriptions  doliaires.  —  C.  Ludovico 
Visconti,  On  Urick  Stamps  (in  Parker's  Archreology  of  Rome,  vol.  or  part  iv. 
p.  41.  London,  1870).  —  Heinrieh  Dressel,  Alcnne  osservazioni  intorno  ai  Ixdli 
dei  mattoni  urbaul  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1885,  p.  98). —  Untersuchun<ien  iibcr  die 
Kronoloijie  der  Zier/elstempel,  188(i. —  Corpus  Inscriptioniim  Latinarum,,yol. 
XV.  1.  Berlin,  1891.  —  Gio.  Battista  Liigari,  Sopra  /'  etcc  di  alcuni  bolli  di 
fijuline  (in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  18'J5,  p.  (10). 

XII.  Makbles.  —  It  would  not  be  consistent  with  the  spirit  of 
this  present  work  to  enter,  even  superficially,  on  the  question  of 
Roman  marbles.  From  the  topographical  point  of  view  (marble 
wharves,  warehouses,  and  sheds,  places  of  sale,  offices  of  adminis- 
tration, artists'  studios,  and  stonecutters'  shops)  it  will  be  illus- 
trated in  Book  IV.  §  vii.  I  refer  the  reader,  in  the  mean  time,  to 
the  following  standard  works  :  — 

Faustino  Corsi,  Delle  pietre  nntlche,  M  cd.,  Rome,  1845.  —  The  Rev.  H.  W. 
Pullen,  J fandbook  of  Ancient  Roman  Marbles,  Londim,  Murra}',  1894.  —  Luigi 
Brnzza,  Iscrizioni  dei  marmi  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1870,  p.  106). 

The  perusal  of  these  three  volumes  must  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  study  of  the  marbles  which  they  describe,  so  as  to  enable 
the  student  to  tell  them  apart.     For  this  jiurpose  sjilendid  coUec- 


.)fARBLES  43 

tions  have  been  placed  at  our  disposal :  one  at  Oxford,  whicli 
numbers  1000  tablets;  one  in  the  geological  museum  in  Jermyn 
Street,  London  ;  a  third  in  the  University  of  the  Sapienza  in 
Rome,  consisting  of  (JOO  large  and  about  1000  smaller  slabs.  The 
best  of  all  is  the  set  bequeathed  by  Baron  Ravenstein  to  the  mu- 
seum of  the  Porte  de  Hal,  Brussels.  It  contains  76i  specimens, 
which  were  arranged  and  catalogued  by  Tommaso  and  Francesco 
Belli.  The  variety  and  richness  of  Roman  marbles  may  be 
estimated  from  the  fact  that  there  are  4:5  qualities  of  bigio,  and 
151  of  alabaster.  The  rarest  marbles  known  are  the  breccia 
d'  Egitto,  the  breccia  di  Villa  Adriana  and  the  breccia  di  Villa 
Casali.  There  are  specimens  of  these  exhibited  in  the  first  hall  of 
tlie  jSIuseo  ISIunicipale  al  Celio.  The  churches  of  S.  INIaria  in 
Aracd'li,  della  Minerva,  and  della  Vittoria,  and  tlie  Capella  Bor- 
gliesiana  in  8.  Maria  jNIaggiore,  are  noted  for  their  wealth  in  rare 
marl  lies. 

XIII.  Metiious  of  Constkuction.  —  For  this  suliject  also  1 
must  refer  the  student  to  the  works  quoted  on  page  :5S.  Tlie  Ro- 
mans have  built  in  opus  quadratuin,  incertiim,  rcticulaluin,  htteritiuiii, 
lateritio-reticulatum,  and  in  concrete.  An  excellent  set  of  plioto- 
tyjies  explaining  these  various  styles  of  masonry  can  be  found  in 
vol.  i.  part  ii.  of  Parker's  "  Archaeology  of  Rome,"  Oxford,  London, 
1874  :    The  Historical  Comtrurtion  of  Walls. 

The  following  rules  are  useful  to  the  student  for  determining  the 
age  of  a  Roman  building  : : — 

L  In  Rome  there  are  no  traces  of  the  so-called  Pelasgic  or 
polygonal  style  of  masonry. i  The  oldest  remains,  like  tlie  walls 
of  the  Palatine  and  of  the  Capitol,  are  built  in  ojyus  fjuadratum 
in  the  Etruscan  style,  with  the  blocks  of  tufa  placed  lengthwise 
in  one  tier  and  crosswise  in  the  next.  This  ride  was  followed 
tlirough  the  Republican  period.  I  know  of  very  few  exceptions  : 
one  is  the  great  wall  upon  which  the  Constantinian  basilica  of  S. 
Clement  is  biult,  where  the  blocks  are  all  placed  lengthwise. 

In  Imperial  times  the  exception  becomes  the  rule.  The  in- 
closure  walls  of  the  Forum  Angustum,  of  the  Forum  Transi- 
torium,  etc.,  and  the  cella>  of  many  temples,  show  the  blocks 
placed  in  one  direction  only. 

The  opus  (piadratum  was  given  up  (except  in  case  of  restora- 
tions) in  the  third  century  after  Christ,  and  imitations  in  plaster 
were  substituted  for  it.    The  facade  of  the  Senate-house,  rebuilt  by 

1  Rodolfii  Fonteauive,  Avanzi  detii  Cidopici  ndla provincia  di  Roma.  Rome, 
Sciolla,  1887. 


44 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


Diocletian,  the  Thei-mas  of  Constantine,  and  liis  Basilica  Nova, 
the  Thermaii  of  Diocletian,  and  parts  of  the  Sessorian  palace,  were 
plastered  in  this  style.  (See  plates,  Nos.  2,  26,  30,  etc.,  in  Stefano 
du  Perac's  "  Vestigi  dell'  antichita  di  Roma  "  and  "  Atti  Lincei," 
an.  1883,  vol.  xi.  serie  iii.  pi.  3.) 

2.  The  ojnis  incertum,  of  which  Fig.  17  gives  a  specimen  from 
the  Porticus  iEmilia,  176  b.  c,  marks  a  transition  from  the 
polygonal  to  the  reticulated  work.     The  Romans  must  have  im- 


Fig.  17. —The  Opus  Incertum. 

ported  it  from  Tibur,  where  it  was  in  great  favor.  Resides  the 
l\n-ticus  ^^milia,  tliere  are  (or  were  in  1872)  other  remains  built  in 
this  style  under  the  cliff  of  the  Viminal,  opposite  S.  Vitale.  Pho- 
tograiths  of  them  are  given  by  Parker  in  "  Archaeology  of  Rome," 
voL  i.  1874,  Construction  of  Walls,  pi.  vi.  2.  The  opus  incertum 
was  given  up  about  the  time  of  Sulla,  and  replaced  by  the  opus 
reticiilatum,  made  of  regular  tufa  prisms  in  imitation  of  network. 
There    are    three   kinds   of  opus    reticulatiim :   in   the  oldest  the 


METHODS    OF   CONSTRUCTION  45 

prisms  are  small,  and  the  intersecting  lines  of  the  network 
slightly  irregular ;  it  marks  the  infancy  of  the  new  style.  A 
specimen  may  be  found  on  the  Palatine,  on  the  left-hand  side  of 
the  path  which  ascends  from  the  foot  of  the  Seal*  Caci  to  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter  Propugnator. 

In  the  second  stage  the  prisms  become  larger,  and  the  cross  lines 
of  the  network  perfectly  straight,  while  the  angles  of  the  walls  are 
strengthened  with  rectangular  pieces  of  tufa  resembling  large 
bricks.  The  house  of  Germ  aniens  on  the  Palatine  is  the  best 
specimen  of  this  style,  which  seems  to  have  lasted  until  the  time 
of  Trajan. 

The  last  period,  from  Trajan  to  the  first  Anton ines,  marks  a 
decided  improvement  in  the  solidity  of  the  work.  The  angles  and 
arches  are  built  of  bricks,  and  the  wall  itself  is  strengthened  by 
horizontal  bands  of  the  same  material  (Fig.  18).  The  netwoi-k. 
therefore,  does  not  cover  the  whole  face  of  the  wall,  but  is  divided 
into  panels  from  four  to  five  feet  high.  At  the  end  of  the  second 
century  the  opus  reticulatiim  was  given  up  altogether.  1  have 
never  discovered  what  its  advantages  were.  It  did  not  contribute 
certainly  to  the  solidity  of  the  building,  and  it  demanded  more 
skill  and  time  from  the  mason  than  the  brickwork.  In  the  last 
place,  its  elegance  and  beauty  were  generally  concealed  by  a  coat- 
ing of  plaster.  Yet  builders  and  architects  like  Trajan  and  Ha- 
drian preferred  it  to  any  other  kind  of  masonry.  The  extensive 
warehouses  of  Ostia,  the  substructures  of  the  Tliermse  Traianaj, 
Hadrian's  villa  near  Tibur,  the  inner  harbor  and  docks  at  Porto, 
and  a  hundred  contemporary  edifices,  are  built  in  this  style.  (See 
Fig.  18,  i>.  46.) 

•3.  Opus  lateritium.  —  The  fundamental  rule  for  the  chronology 
of  brick  structures  is  this :  the  thinner  the  bed  of  cement  be- 
tween the  layers  of  bricks,  the  older  the  structure.  In  other 
words,  in  the  opus  lateritium  of  the  golden  age  the  bricks  are  so 
close  together  that  the  line  of  cement  is  hardly  visible ;  while  at 
the  end  of  the  third  century  the  layer  of  cement  is  even  thicker 
than  the  line  of  bricks.  The  rule  is  obviously  subject  to  exce2> 
tions,  especially  when  the  brick  facing  was  destined  to  be  seen 
and  not  to  be  plastered  over.  In  such  cases  we  are  apt  to  find 
excellent  specimens  of  brick  "  cortina,"  even  in  times  of  decadence. 

The  most  perfect  specimens  of  brickwork  in  Rome  are  some 
portions  of  the  Pra?torian  camp  (the  Porta  Decumana,  Porta  Princi- 
palis Sinistra),  the  Amphitheatrum  Castrense,  and  the  Arcus  Ne- 
roniani  on  the  Ca'lian.     The  decline  in  the  stvle  can  be  followed 


46 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


almost  year  by  year  from  the  time  of  the  Fhivians  to  that  of 
Constantiue.  I  suggest  as  representatives  of  periods,  more  than 
years,  the  Domus  Augustana  for  tlie  time  of  Domitian ;  the  so- 
called  "  baths  of  Titus  "  for  the  time  of  Trajan ;  the  Pantheon 
and  the  spiral  staircase  of  the  Mausoleum  for  that  of  Hadrian  ; 
the  Villa  Quinctiliorum  for  that  of  Commodus ;  the  Thermaj  An- 
toninianae  for  that  of  Caracalla  ;  the  substructures  of  the  Temple 
of  the  Sun  in  the  Villa  Colonna  for  that  of  Aurelian ;  the  Baths 
of  Diocletian,  the  Basilica  Nova,  the  Senate-liouse,  for  the  end  of 
the  third  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  fourth.  These  types 
of  construction  are  carefully  illustrated  in  vol.  i.  of  Parker's 
"  Archaeology  of  Rome." 


mM^. 


w^^m^^w^' 


Fig.  18.  — Tlie  Opus  Reticulatum. 

I  have  said  that  when  the  brickwork  was  intended  to  remain 
exposed  to  view,  and  not  to  be  concealed  l>y  plaster,  it  is  always 
more  perfect  than  we  should  exjiect  from  the  general  style  pre- 
vailing at  the  time. 

The  best  period  for  ornamental  brick-carving  in  three  shades  of 
color  —  yellow,  red,  and  brown  —  includes  the  second  half  of  the 
second  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  thii'd.  The  tomb  attri- 
buted to  Annia  Regilla  (Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  201),  the 
tombs  of  the  Via  Latina,  the  door  of  the  Excubitorium  Vigilum 
at  the  ]\Ionte  de'  Fiori,  Trastevere  (Ancient  Rome.  p.  'JoO),  the 


AQUEDUCTS  47 

door  of  the  Catacombs  of  Pra?textatus,  the  temple  at  S.  Urbano 
alia  Caifarella  (Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  294)  are  the  best 
specimens  of  this  kind  of  work. 

There  is  another  peculiarity  of  the  opus  laterilium  wliicli  may 
help  the  student  to  determine  the  age  of  an  edifice  in  doubtful 
cases.  The  brick  facing  of  a  wall  is  sometimes  interrupted  by 
parallel  horizontal  lines  of  tegulai  bipedales  of  a  different  line, 
from  three  to  six  feet  apart.  These  lines  appear  for  the  first  time, 
I  believe,  in  the  Pantheon  and  in  the  spiral  staircase  of  Hadrian's 
tomb,  and  are  most  conspicuous  in  the  buildings  of  the  time  of 
Severus  and  Caracalla. 

XIV.  Aqueducts.  —  One  of  IIh-  praises  liestowed  by  Cicero  on 
the  founder  of  the  city  is  locum  t'li(/it  fonlihus  ahunduntem,  "he 
selected  a  district  very  rich  in  springs."  A  glance  at  llie  plan 
(Fig.  1)  will  at  once  prove  the  accuracy  of  the  statement.  Twenty- 
three  springs  have  been  described  within  the  walls,  several  of 
which  are  still  in  existence ;  others  have  disappeared  owing  to  the 
increase  of  modern  soil.  "  For  four  hundred  and  forty-one  [442] 
years,"  says  Frontinus  (i.  4),  "the  Romans  contented  themselves 
with  such  water  as  they  could  get  from  the  Tiber,  from  wells,  and 
from  s]>rings.  Some  of  these  springs  are  still  held  in  great  venera- 
tion on  account  of  their  health-restoring  qualities,  like  the  spring 
of  the  Camcena;,  that  of  Apollo,  and  that  of  Jutnrna." 

Tiie  springs  of  the  Camrena'  were  just  outside  the  I'orta  Capeiia, 
in  the  slope  of  the  Cadian,  behind  tlie  church  of  S.  Cregorio,  and 
under  the  wall  of  the  Villa  Mattel.  The  remains  of  the  tem])le 
descrilied  by  Juvenal  (Sat.,  iii.  11)  were  discovered  and  delineate<l 
by  Pin-o  Ligorio  about  35(>(>. 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  springs  of  Apollo.  Tiiose  of  .lutiirna 
are  described  at  length  in  P>o()k  IT.  p.  125.  The  celebrated  foun- 
tain of  Egeria  remained  visible  in  the  lower  grounds  of  tlie  Vigna 
P>etliiii  (between  the  Via  di  S.  Stefano  Rotondo  and  the  Via  della 
Ferratella)  until  1882,  when  the  vigna  was  buried  under  an  em- 
l)aidcnient  11  metres  high;  but  although  the  nymphfeum  itself 
has  disai)[:)eared,  the  waters  still  seem  to  find  their  way  to  another 
fountain  lower  down  the  valley  of  P^geria.  This  graceful  building 
of  the  Renaissance  stands  in  the  grounds  of  the  Villa  Mattel  (von 
Hoffman),  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  di  Porta  S.  Sebastiano  and 
delle  INIole  di  S.  Sisto,  and  the  water  which  inundates  its  lower 
floor  has  some  medicinal  power.  Another  famous  spring,  that  of 
the  Lupercal.  has  been  identified  with  our  Sorgente  di  S.  Giorgio, 


48 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


which  bubbles  \\\)  in  the  very  bed  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  near 
the  church  of  that  name.  The  identity  is  uncertain.  The  Tullia- 
num  still  flows  in  the  lower  crypt  of  the  prison  of  that  name ;  the 
Aqua3  Fontinales  in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Felice,  Salita  della  Dateria, 
and  in  the  house  No.  2,5  Salita  del  Grillo ;  the  Aqua  Damasiana 
in  the  Cortile  di  S.  Damaso  of  the  Vatican  palace,  in  the  foun- 
tain modeled  by  Algardi 
by  order  of  Innocent 
X.  (1649);  the  Aqua 
Lancisiana  in  front  of 
the  Palazzo  Salviati  alia 
Lungara,  where  there  is 
a  basin  with  three  jets, 
designed  by  Lancisi  in 
the  time  of  Clement  XI. 
(1720). 

The  first  aqueduct, 
that  of  the  Aqua  Appia, 
is  the  joint  work  of  Ap- 
pius  Claudius  Csecus  and 
C.  Plautius  Venox,  cen- 
sors in  312  B.  c.  The 
first  built  the  channel, 
the  second  discovered 
the  sjirings  1153  metres 
northeast  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  milestones  of  the  Via  Collatina. 
They  are  still  to  be  seen,  much  reduced  in  volume,  at  the  bottom 
of  some  stone  quarries  near  the  farmhouse  of  La  Rustica.  The 
channel  followed  the  Via  Collatina,  entered  Rome  ad  Spem  Vetcrcm 
(Porta  ]\Iaggiore),  crossed  the  valley  of  the  Piscina  Publica  (Via 
di  Porta  S.  Sebastiano)  close  to  the  Porta  Capena,  and  ended  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Publicius  (S. 
Anna,  Via  della  Salara)  ;  length  of  channel,  16,445  metres;  vol- 
ume of  water  discharged  in  twenty-four  hours,  115,303  cubic  me- 
tres. The  aqueduct  of  the  Appia  has  been  discovered  thrice  :  by 
Fabretti,  in  the  Vigna  Santoro  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  di  Porta  S. 
Paolo  and  the  Vicolo  di  S.  Balbina  (an.  1607) ;  by  Parker  in  1867, 
in  the  tufa  quarries  of  S.  Saba ;  and  by  myself  in  1888,  under  the 
remains  of  the  palace  of  Annia  Cornuficia  Faustina  in  the  Vigna 
Maciocohi,  Via  di  Porta  S.  Paolo.  It  differs  in  shape  from  all 
other  Roman  aqueducts,  as  shown  in  Fig.  20. 

Anio  vetus.  —  The  second  aqueduct  was  begun  in  272  b.  c.  by 


Fig.  20.  —  The  Channel  of  the  Aqua  Appia  under 
the  Aventine. 


AQUEDUCTS  49 

Manius  Curius  Dentatus,  censor,  and  finished  three  yeai's  later  by 
Fulvius  Flaccus.  The  water  was  taken  from  the  river  Anio  850 
metres  above  S.  Cosimato,  on  the  road  from  Tivoli  to  Arsoli 
(Valeria).  The  course  of  the  channel  can  be  traced  as  far  as 
(iallicano ;  from  Gallicano  to  Rome  it  is  uncertain.  It  entered  the 
city  ad  Spem  A'eterem,  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  Porta  ^laggiore, 
where  Piranesi,  Xil)by,  and  myself  have  seen  and  delineated  the 
I'emains  of  the  suJistructio  supra  terrain  passuum  ccrxi  men- 
tioned by  Frontinus  (i.  0).^  From  the  Porta  Maggiore  to  the  Arch 
of  (iallienus  (Porta  Esquilina)  the  aqueduct  can  be  followed  step 
by  step,  having  been  laid  bare  at  least  twenty  times  during  the 
construction  of  the  railway  station  and  of  the  Esquiline  qiuirter. 
Length  of  channel,  63,704  metres ;  volume  of  water  discharged 
in  twenty-four  hours,  277,806  cubic  metres.  The  Anio  Vetus  was 
set  apart  for  the  irrigating  of  gardens  and  for  the  flushing  of  drains. 

Marc'ia.  —  Tn  144  u.  c.  tlie  Senate,  considering  that  the  increase 
of  the  population  had  diminished  the  rate  of  distriltution  of  water 
(from  530  to  430  litres  i)er  head),  detenuined  that  the  old  aipie- 
ducts  of  the  Appia  and  tlie  Anio  should  be  repaired,  and  a  new  one 
built;  the  appropriation  for  both  works  being  8,000,000  sesterces, 
or  1,760,000  lire. 

The  execution  of  the  scheme  was  intrusted  to  Q.  Marcius  Rex. 
He  selected  a  group  of  sjirings  at  the  foot  of  the  Monte  della 
Prugna,  in  the  territoiy  of  Arsoli,  4437  metres  to  the  right  of  the 
thirty-sixth  milestone  of  the  Via  Valeria ;  and  after  many  years 
of  untiring  efforts  he  succeeded  in  making  a  display  of  tlie  water 
on  the  highest  platform  of  the  Capitol.  Agrippa  restored  the 
aqueduct  in  33  b.  c.  ;  Augustus  doubled  the  volume  of  the  water 
in  5  B.  c.  by  the  addition  of  the  Aqua  Augusta ;  in  a.  d.  79 
Titus  rivom  aqua'  Marcue  vetustate  dilapsiim  refecit  et  aquam  qiue 
in  vsu  esse  desierat  reduxit  (Corpus  Inscriptionum,  vi.  1246)  ;  in 
lf(6  Septimius  Severus  brought  in  a  new  supply  for  the  use  of  his 
Thermaj  Severiana^ ;  in  212-213  Caracalla  aquam  Marciam  variis 
l-asihus  im/)edita7n,  purgato  fonte,  excisis  et  perfnratis  )nnntil)us, 
adquisifo  fonte  novo  Antonlniano,  in  urhem  perdurendam  curarit 
(ibid.  1245),  and  built  a  branch  aqueduct,  four  miles  long,  for  tlie 
use  of  his  baths ;  in  305-306  Diocletian  did  the  same  thing  for  his 
great  thermae ;  and,  finally,  Arcadius  and  Honorius  devoted  to  the 
restoration  of  the  aqueduct  the  money  seized  from  Count  Gildo, 
the  African  rebel. 

1  Piranesi,  Antichita,  vol.  i.  pi.  10. —  Nibby,  Komn  anfica,  vol.  i.  p.  339. — 
LaiU'iaiii,  AcqutJutti.  \\.  50,  jil.  iv.  Ulc.  7. 


50 


GENERAL    INFORM  A  TI  ON 


The  Marcia  followed  the  right  bank  of  the  Anio  as  far  as  S. 
Cosimato,  and  the  left  as  far  as  Tivoli,  where  it  turns  round  the 
slope  of  the  Monte  Ripoli  towards  S.  Gericomio  and  Gallicano. 
Here  begins  a  line  of  viaducts  and  bridges,  the  most  magnificent 
of  any  that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  district  of  Rome.  The 
course  of  the  Marcia  (and  of  her  three  companions,  Anio  Vetus, 
Claudia,  and  Anio  Novus)  being  pei'pendicular  to  that  of  the 
valleys  by  which  this  part  of  the  land  is  thickly  furrowed,  and 
their  level  running  halfway  between  the  ihahref/  and  the  summit 
of  the  intervening  ridges,  the  engineers  were  obliged  to  alternate 
bridges  and  tunnels,  some  of  which  ai'e  still  perfect. 

A  visit  to  these  beautiful  highlands  will  prove  most  satisfactory 


Fig.  21.  —  Ponte  Lupo. 

to  the  student.  It  can  be  made  in  a  day,  from  the  station  of 
Zagarolo  on  the  Naples  line,  thence  by  diligence  to  Gallicano,  and 
on  foot  (guide  necessary)  to  the  ruins.  The  bridges  are  seven  in 
number. 

Ponte  Lvpo,  in  the  Valle  dell'  Acqua  Rossa,  for  the  transit  of 
four  waters,  Marcia,  Anio  Vetus,  Anio  Novus,  and  Claudia,  be- 
sides a  carriage-way  and  a  bridle-path.  Originally  it  was  built 
for  the  Anio  Vetus  alone,  and  its  dimensions  were  11.20  metres  in 
heisht,  81.10  metres  in  length,  2.75  metres  in  thickness.     After 


AQUEDUCTS  51 

the  addition  of  the  JNIarcia,  side  by  side  and  above  it,  the  struc- 
ture became  16.0(1  metres  high,  88.00  metres  long,  12  metres  thick. 
Lastly,  after  the  addition  of  the  Claudia  and  Anio  Novus,  it  be- 
came 32  metres  high,  155  metres  long,  1-4  metres  thick,  without 
counting  the  buttresses,  which  are  clearly  visible  in  the  illustra- 
tion opposite  (Fig.  21).  All  ages,  all  styles  of  masonry  are 
represented  at  Ponte  Lupo,  and  in  the  four  tunnels  whicli  con- 
verge towards  it  or  radiate  from  it. 

Pond  deir  Inferno  in  the  Valle  dell'  Inferno,  for  the  transit  of 
the  Claudia  and  of  the  Anio  Novus ;  and 

Ponti  (lelle  Forme  Rotte,  for  the  same,  in  the  Valle  del  Fosso  di 
S.  Gregorio. 

Ponte  (li  S.  Pietro,  in  the  Valle  delle  Forme  Rotte,  for  the 
transit  of  the  Aijua  Marcia. 

Ponte  (li  S.  Giovanni,  in  the  same  valley,  for  the  transit  of  the 
Anio  Vetus.  The  bridge  was  rebuilt  by  Augustus  in  reticulated 
work,  ami  again  repaired  in  brickwork  by  one  of  the  late  Emper- 
ors  (first  arch  on  the  left). 

From  (iallicano  to  the  sixth  milestone  of  the  Via  Latina  tlie 
Marcia  runs  underground;  from  the  sixth  milestone  to  the  Porta 
Maggiore,  I'orta  S.  Lorenzo,  and  to  the  present  railway  station  it 
was  borne  on  almost  triumphal  arcades,  built  of  tufa  with  mould- 
ings of  travertine.  The  same  arcades  were  afterwards  used  to 
carry  the  Aqua  Tepula  and  the  Julia.  The  following  photograph 
gives  the  section  of  the  channel  at  a  point  where  it  emerges  from 
the  ground  in  the  farm  of  Roma  Vecchia.  A.  The  channel  of 
the  Marcia.  B.  Renuiins  of  that  of  the  Tepula  above  it.  C.  A 
buttress,  probably  of  the  time  of  Hadrian.  D.  Another,  probably 
of  the  time  of  Severus.  E.  The  channel  of  the  Acqua  Felice, 
built  by  Sixtus  V.  FF'.  The  arcades  of  the  Claudia  and  of  the 
Anio  Xovus. 

The  afjueduct  reaches  Rome  at  the  Porta  ISIaggiore  (the  meet- 
ing-point of  ten  waters,  Appia,  Appia  Augusta,  Anio  Vetus, 
Mai-cia,  Tepula,  Julia,  Claudia,  Anio  Novus,  Alexandrina,  Felice), 
and  follows  the  line  of  the  walls  of  Am-elian  as  far  as  the  Porta 
S.  Lorenzo.  The  course  beyond  this  gate  is  so  complicated  that  I 
think  it  well  to  refer  the  student  to  sheets  xvii.  and  xviii.  of  the 
"Forma  L'rbis,"  in  which  all  particulars  are  carefully  mapped, 
rather  than  describe  it  here. 

Aqua  Tepula  —  Aqua  Julia.  —  The  veins,  so  named  from 
their  almost  tepid  temperature  of  17°  Cent.,  and  now  called  Sor- 
genti  deir  Acqua  Preziosa,  were  collected  at  the  foot  of  the  Alban 


52 


GENERAL    IN  FORM  A  TI  ON 


hills  (Valle  Marciaiiii)  in  125  b.  c.  by  the  censors  Cn.  Servilius 
Ca?pio  and  L.  Cassius  Longinus.  For  ninety-two  years  the  Tepula 
reached  Rome  by  its  own  channel ;  but  in  33  b.  c.  Agrippa,  after 
he  had  collected  the  springs  of  the  Aqua  elulia  —  higher  up  the 
same  valley  at  a  place  now  called  '*  II  Fontanile  degli  Squarcia- 
relli  di  Grottaferrata,"  which  were  much  colder  and  purer,  and 
double  in  volume  —  determined  to  mix  the  two  and  obtain  a  corn- 


Fig.  22.  —  The  Aqueducts  at  Roma  Vecchia. 

jionnd  water  superior  in  quality  to  the  Tejiula,  though  slightly  in- 
ferior to  the  Julia.  The  Julia  was  admitted  accordingly  into  the 
channel  of  the  Tepula  at  tlie  tenth  milestone  of  the  Via  Latina, 
and  the  amalgamation  allowed  to  proceed  for  the  space  of  four 


A  QUE  DUCTS  53 

miles.  At  the  sixth  milestone  the  compound  water  was  again  di- 
vided in  two  conduits,  proportioned  to  the  volume  of  the  springs 
(400  quinaria;  for  the  Tepula,  and  12()<3  for  the  Julia).  The  tem- 
perature of  the  Tepula  being  17°  Cent.,  that  of  the  Julia  10°,  and 
tlieir  volumes  1  :  8,  the  mixture  must  have  marked  at  the  Piscina 
a  temperature  of  about  12°,  which  is  the  best  for  drinking  pur- 
poses. Length  of  channel  for  the  Tepula,  17,74.5  metres  ;  for  the 
Julia,  22,853  metres.  Volume  of  the  first,  28,115  cubic  metres  in 
twenty-four  hours ;  of  the  second,  76,195,  Both  were  borne  on 
the  same  arches  which  carried  the  Marcia. 

Aqua  Virgo.  —  The  springs,  located  at  the  eighth  milestone  of 
the  Via  Latina,  above  the  farmhouse  of  Salone  in  the  Val  del 
Ponte  di  Nona,  were  drawn  into  a  canal  by  Agrippa,  and  reached 
tiie  city  on  June  9,  19  h.  c.  Length  of  channel,  20,(397  metres; 
volume  in  twenty-four  hours,  158,203  cubic  metres. 

Aqua  Alsietina.  —  "1  cannot  conceive,"  says  Frontinus  (i.  11), 
"  why  such  a  wise  prince  as  Augustus  should  have  brought  to 
Rome  such  a  discredit al)le  and  unwholesome  water  as  the  Alsie- 
tina, unless  it  was  for  the  use  of  the  naumachia  "  (an  oval  pond 
531  metres  long,  354  metres  wide,  for  naval  sliam  fights).  It  was 
destined  afterwards  for  the  irrigation  of  the  Transtiberine  or- 
chards. Length  of  channel,  32,848  metres ;  volume,  24,767  cubic 
metres  per  day.     (See  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1887,  p.  182.) 

Aqua  Claudia.  —  None  of  the  Roman  aqueducts  are  eulo- 
gized by  Frontinus  like  tlie  Claudian.  lie  calls  it  "  opus  magni- 
ficentissiine  consummatum ;  "  and  after  demonstrating  in  more 
than  one  way  that  the  volume  of  the  springs  collected  by  Claudius 
amounted  to  4607  quinari;r,  he  says  that  there  was  a  reserve  of 
1()00  always  ready. 

The  works,  begun  liy  Caligida  in  a.  d.  38,  lasted  fourteen  years, 
the  water  having  reached  Rome  only  on  Augu.st  1,  52  (the  birth- 
day of  Claudius).  The  course  of  the  aqueduct  was  first  around 
the  slopes  of  the  Monte  Ripoli.  like  that  of  the  ]\rarcia  and  of  the 
Anio  Vetus  :  Domitian  shortened  it  by  several  miles  by  boring  a 
tunnel  4950  metres  long  through  the  Monte  Affliano.  (See  An- 
cient Rome,  p.  63.)  Lengtli  of  channel,  68,750  metres,  of  which 
15,000  on  arches;  volume  per  day,  209,252  cubic  metres.  The 
Claudia  was  used  for  the  Imperial  table  :  a  branch  aqueduct,  2000 
metres  long,  left  the  main  cliannel  ad  Spem  A^terem  (Porta  Mag- 
giore),  and  following  the  line  of  the  Via  Ca'limontana  (Villa 
Wolkonsky),  of  the  Campus  Ca'limontanus  (Lateran),  and  of  the 
street  now  called  di  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  reached  the  temple  of 


54  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Claudius  l)y  the  church  of  SS.  Giovauni  e  ruolo,  and  the  Imperial 
palace  by  tlie  churcli  of  S.  Bouaventura.     (See  Boolv  11.  §  xxv.) 

Anio  Novus.  —  The  Aiiio  Novus,  like  the  Vetus,  was  at  first 
derived  from  the  river  of  the  same  name  at  the  forty-second  mile- 
stone of  the  road  to  Subiaco,  great  precautions  being  taken  for 
purifying  the  water  by  means  of  a  piscina  limaria.  The  works 
were  begun  by  Caligula  in  a.  d.  38,  and  completed  by  Claudius  on 
August  1,  52,  on  a  most  magnificent  scale,  some  of  the  arches 
reaching  the  height  of  thirty-two  metres  above  ground  ;  and  there 
were  eight  miles  of  them.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  purifying  reser- 
voir, and  of  the  clear  springs  of  the  Rivus  Herculaneus  (Fosso  di 
Fioggio),  which  had  been  mixed  with  the  water  from  the  river,  the 
Anio  Novus  was  hardly  ever  drinkable.  Whenever  a  shower  fell 
on  the  Simbruine  mountains,  the  water  would  get  troubled  and 
saturated  with  mud  and  carbonate  of  lime.  Trajan  improved  its 
condition  by  carrying  the  head  of  the  a(pieduct  higher  up  tlie 
valley,  where  Nero  had  created  three  artificial  lakes  for  the  adorn- 
ment of  his  Villa  Sublacensis.  These  lakes  served  more  efficiently 
as  piscinm  limarkE,  or  "  purgatories,"  than  the  artificial  basin  of 
Caligula,  nine  miles  below.  The  Anio  Novus  reached  Rome  in  its 
own  channel  after  a  course  of  86,964  metres,  but  for  the  last 
seven  miles  it  ran  on  the  same  arches  with  the  Aqua  Claudia. 
The  Anio  Novus  was  the  largest  of  all  Roman  aqueducts,  dis- 
charging nearly  three  hundred  thousand  cubic  metres  per  day. 

There  are  two  places  in  the  suburbs  of  Rome  where  these 
marvelous  arches  of  the  Claudia  and  Anio  Novus  can  be  seen  to 
advantage  :  one  is  the  Torre  Fiscale,  three  miles  outside  the  Porta 
S.  Giovanni  on  the  Albano  road  (to  be  reached  also  from  the 
Tavolato  station,  on  the  upper  Albano  railway)  ;  tlie  other  is  the 
Vicolo  del  Mandrione,  which  leaves  the  Labicana  one  mile  outside 
the  Porta  Maggiore  and  falls  into  the  Tusculana  at  the  place 
called  Porta  Furba.  A  walk  through  the  Vicolo  del  INIandrione 
will  make  the  student  more  familiar  with  the  aqueducts  of 
ancient  Rome,  their  structure  and  management,  their  respective 
size  and  importance,  than  many  books  written  on  the  subject. 
He  must  remember  that  the  higher  of  the  two  lines  of  arches 
carried  the  Claudia  and  the  Anio  Novus,  the  lower  cai'ried  the 
Marcia,  Tepula,  and  Julia.  The  ugly  channel  of  the  Acqua  Felice 
takes  advantage  of  the  remains  of  both  ;  the  Alexaudrina,  Anio 
Vetus,  and  Appia  run  underground  (see  Fig.  23). 

Aqua  Traiana.  —  A  rule  was  strictly  followed  under  the  Em- 
pire, that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  build  and  open  tlierni;>3  for 


AQUEDUCTS  55 

l>nl)Iic  use  unless  a  sj)ecial  supply  of  water  was  secured  at  the  same 


time.    The  Aqua  A'irgo  served  for  Agrippa's  thermae  and  Euripus, 
the  Alsietina  for  the  naumachia  of  Augustus  ;  Titus  repaired  and 


56  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

increased  the  volume  of  the  Marcia  for  the  use  of  his  baths,  and 
so  did  Severus,  Caracalla,  and  Diocletian.  The  construction  of 
the  Thermse  Alexandrinse  is  contemporary  with  the  canalization 
of  the  Aqua  Alexandrina,  etc.  That  of  the  Aqua  Traiana  seems 
to  be  also  connected  with  the  construction  of  the  Thermal  Surianse, 
which  Trajan  had  built  on  the  table-land  of  the  Aventine  in  honor 
of  his  friend  and  supporter  Licinius  Sura.  An  inscription  dis- 
covered in  1830  at  la  Conetta,  on  tlie  Bracciano  road  (Corpus  In- 
scriptionum,  vi.  1260),  and  the  medal  (Cohen,  Imper.,  ii.  49,  n. 
305)  give  the  date  of  a.  d.  109  for  the  completion  of  the  aqueduct. 
Its  sources  were  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Lago  di  Bracciano, 
along  the  chain  of  hills  between  Oriolo  and  Bassano.  The  va- 
rious branches  met  at  a  central  reservoir  near  Vicarello,  where  the 
true  aqueduct  begins.  It  was  57,000  metres  long,  and  discharged 
118,127  cubic  metres  per  day. 

The  Aqua  Paola  of  the  present  day  is  not  at  all  so  good  as  the 
Traiana,  since  Paul  V.,  the  restorer  of  the  aqueduct,  mixed  up  the 
good  springs  with  the  inferior  water  of  the  lake. 

The  last  water  brought  into  Imperial  Rome  is  the  Aqua  Alex- 
ANDKiNA.  Its  springs,  at  the  foot  of  Monte  Falcone,  on  the  Via 
Prsenestina,  were  collected  in  226  by  Severus  Alexander,  for  the 
use  of  his  baths.  The  aqueduct,  most  minutely  described  by 
Fabretti  (De  Aquis,  dissert,  i.),  was  about  22  kilometres  long,  and 
increased  the  daily  supply  of  the  city  by  21,632  cubic  metres. 
Its  most  conspicuous  remains  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Valle  di  Acqua 
Bollicante  (Via  Labicana). 

The  Roman  waters  were  not  equally  good.  In  the  scale  of 
perfection  the  Marcia  and  the  Claudia  occupy  the  first  place,  the 
Virgo  comes  next,  followed  by  the  Appia,  Julia,  Traiana,  Anio 
Nevus,  Alexandrina,  Tepula,  Anio  Vetus,  and  Alsietina. 

The  Traiana  reached  Rome  at  the  considerable  height  of  71.16 
metres  above  the  sea,  the  Anio  Novus  at  70.40,  the  Claudia  at 
67.40,  the  Julia  at  63.73,  the  Tepxda  at  60.63,  the  Marcia  at  58.63, 
the  Anio  Vetus  at  48,  the  Alexandrina  at  about  43,  the  Virgo  at 
20,  the  Appia  at  20  (?),  the  Alsietina,  "  omnium  humilior,"  at  16.50. 

At  the  time  of  Constantine  there  were  in  Rome  11  great 
thermge,  926  public  baths,  1212  public  fountains,  247  reservoirs, 
a  "stagnum  Agrippce"  without  speaking  of  private  houses,  of 
public  and  private  gardens,  of  docks  and  warehouses,  each  well 
provided  with  water. 

Some  of  the  fountains  were  of  monumental  character,  and  rich 
in  works  of  art.     Agrippa,  while  sedile,  decorated  those  existing 


AQUEDUCTS  57 

at  the  time  with  tliree  hundred  marble  and  bronze  statues  and 
four  hundred  columns.  We  know  of  one  work  of  art  only,  —  an 
"  <#i'«<^-'*  Hydne  "  which  he  placed  on  the  Servilian  fountain  "  a<l 
Serviliam  lacu7n."  The  fountains  of  Prometheus,  of  the  Shep- 
iierds,  of  Orpheus,  of  Ganymede,  of  the  Four  Fish  (Scari),  of  the 
Tliree  Masks,  etc.,  must  have  been  so  named  from  the  statues  and 
marbles  with  which  they  were  decorated. 

One  only  of  the  great  fountains  has  escaped  destruction,  that 
popularly  called  "  I  Trofei  di  iNlario,"  in  the  Piazza  Yittorio  Em- 
manuele  on  the  Esquiline.  Its  ancient  name  is  not  known  for 
certain  :  Lenormant  has  suggested  that  of  Nymplniium  Alexandri ; 
I  prefer  that  of  Lacus  Orphei.  Its  mediajval  name  was  Cimbrum 
INIarii,  a  recollection  of  tlie  monument  erected  here  in  memory  of 
the  victory  of  the  Campi  Raudii ;  while  in  the  early  Renaissance 
it  was  called  "  Le  Oche  Armate."  The  trophies  which  adorned  it 
were  removed  to  the  Piazza  del  Campidoglio  under  Sixtus  V. 

Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  II  Castello  fleW  Acqua  Giulut ;  and  Tro/'ei  di 
Ottnviano  Augusto.  Rome :  K.  Calcografia.  —  Francois  Lenormant,  Jlemoire 
mr  la  veritable  designntiun  du  monuinvnt  connu  sous  It  nom  de  Trophees  de 
Marius.  (R^vue  Numism.,  1840.)  —  Rodolfo  Lanciaiii,  /  coinentarii  di  Fron- 
tino,  p.  173. 

Supposing  the  inhabitants  of  Rome  to  have  numbered,  suburbs 
included,  one  million,  there  was  a  daily  water  supply  of  IHOO 
litres  per  head.  In  modern  Rome,  for  a  population  of  half  a 
million,  there  are  about  760  litres  per  head. 

The  volume  of  water  which  supplied  Rome  may  be  estimated 
by  comparison  with  the  Tiber,  which  discharges  only  1,296,000 
cubic  metres  per  day,  while  the  old  aqueducts  carried  not  less 
than  1,747,311  cubic  metres. 

LiTERATUKK.  —  Raphael  Fabretti,  Be  aqnis  et  ar/ucedurtilms  veteris  Romce, 
2d-ed.  Rome,  1788.  —  Alberto  Cassio,  Corso  delle  acque  antiche.  Rome, 
1757-59.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Storia  delle  acque  di  Roma.  — John  Henry  Parker,  The 
Aqueducts  of  Ancient  Rome.  Oxford,  London,  1876. — Alessandro  Bettoehi, 
Le  acque  e  gli  acquedotti  di  Roma  antica  e  moderna.  (Monografia  della  citta 
di  Roma,  voL  ii.  ch.  xix.  1881.)  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  /  comentarii  di  Frontino 
intovno  le  acque  e  gli  ncquedoUi.     Rome,  Salviucci,  1880. 

An  interesting  collection  of  objects  connected  with  the  suppl}- and  distribu- 
tion of  water  in  ancient  Rome  is  exhibited  in  Hall  No.  VI.  of  the  Museo 
Municipale  al  Celio. 

The  following  table  concerning  the  Roman  aqueducts  may  be 
useful  to  the  student :  — 


58 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


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THE    WALLS  59 

XV.  MuRi  Urbis  (the  Walls).  —  Rome  has  been  fortified 
seven  times,  witli  seven  lines  of  walls  :  by  the  first  King,  by 
Servins  Tullius,  by  Aurelian,  by  Honorius,  by  Leo  IV.,  by  Urban 
VIII.,  and  by  the  Italian  government. 

The  literature  on  this  point  of  Roman  history  and  topography 
is  very  copious.  The  works  in  which  the  subject  is  treated  from 
a  general  [)oint  of  view  are  — 

Antonio  Niljby,  Lt  mura  di  Roma,  diser/nate  da  Sir  IV.  Gell.  1820.  —  Ste- 
fano  Pialt;,  .Six  Memoirs,  rei)rinted  from  the  Atti  dtlla  jiont.  Accadtmia  rom. 
d' Archevlijijiu.  18'20-;J.5.  —  Adolf  Becker,  Dv,  Jiomw  veteris  muris  u/i/iie  portis. 
I^eipsic,  1842.  —  Kodolfo  J^anciani,  Lt  mnra  e  la  parte  di  Servio  (in  Annal.  Inst., 
1871,  p.  40)  ;  and  Bull.  arch,  com.,  187(i,  pp.24,  121  (1888,  p.  12).  —  Heinrieh 
.Jordan,  Topoiinijihic,  vol.  i.  p.  200,  Desclireilinng  der  .servianisclien  Maner  ; 
]p.  .'}4(),  die  aureliauisclie  Mauer.  —  C'esare  (iuareiigiii,  Lt  mura  di  Roma. 
Konie,  1882. 

XVr.  MuRUS  RoMULi  (Walls  of  the  Palatine).  It  is  probable 
that  the  Alban  colonists  of  the  "  hill  of  Pales,"  protected  by 
marshes  and  cliffs,  contented  themselves  with  raising  a  palisade 
and  cutting  a  ditch  at  the  only  weak  point  of  their  natural  for- 
tress, viz.  across  the  neck  of  the  Velia.  After  coming  in  contact 
with  their  more  advanced  neighbors,  like  the  inhabitants  of  the 
turrif/era;  Antemnd',  they  thought  it  more  expedient  to  follow 
tlieir  exami>le,  and  wall  in  and  fortify  their  village,  which  was  at 
the  same  time  the  fold  of  their  caf  tie. 

The  text  most  freijuently  quoted  in  reference  to  the  IVIurus 
Romuli  is  that  of  Tacitus  (Ann.,  xii.  24),  according  to  which  the 
furrow  ploughed  by  the  hero  —  the  sulcus  primiyeiiius  —  started 
from  a  })oiut  in  the  Forum  Boarium,  marked  in  later  times  by  the 
bronze  Bidl  of  INIyron  ;  and  followed  the  valley  between  the  Palatine 
and  the  Aventine  as  far  as  the  altar  of  Consus,  the  valley  between 
the  Palatine  and  the  Ca;lian  as  far  as  the  Curiae  Veteres,  the  east 
slope  of  the  hill  as  far  as  the  Sacellum  Larum.  The  same  historian 
says  that  the  Ara  ISIaxima  of  Hercules  was  included  within  the  fur- 
row, and  Dionysius  states  that  Vesta's  temple  was  outside  it.  The 
furrow  followed  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  or  slopes  of  the  Palatine,  its 
course  being  marked  with  stone  cippi.  Others  affirm  that  the  city 
of  Romulus  was  square  (jerpaywvos —  Ronui  (.^uadrata).  The  truth 
is  that  neither  the  walls  nor  the  ))omerium  of  Romulus  can  be  said 
to  make  a  square;  that  a  line  drawn  from  l)eyond  the  Ara  Maxima 
to  the  Ara  Consi  cannot  be  said  to  go  "  along  the  foot  of  the 
cliffs  of  the  Palatine"  {per  Ima  mantis  Palatini);  that  the  valley 
in  those  days  was  covered  with  water,  deep  enough  to  be  navi- 


60  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

gated  by  canoes,  so  that  neither  a  furrow  could  be  ploughed 
through  it,  nor  stone  cippi  set  up  to  mark  the  line  of  the  furrow. 
Moreover,  the  same  marshes  extended  on  the  southeast  side  as  far 
as  the  Curiaj  Ve teres,  on  the  northwest  as  far  as  the  Temple  of 
Vesta ;  and  the  shape  of  the  Palatine  walls  was  rather  trapezoid, 
like  that  of  a  terramara  of  the  valley  of  the  Po,  than  square  like 
an  Etruscan  templum ;  while,  lastly,  the  name  of  Roma  Quadrata 
did  not  belong  to  the  city  on  the  hill,  but  to  the  altar  described  in 
"  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  70,  which  stood  in  front  of  the 
Temple  of  Apollo. 

There  is  manifestly  a  chronological  error  in  speaking  of  places 
and  things,  not  as  they  were  in  the  earliest  days  of  Rome,  but  as 
they  appeared  after  the  draining  of  the  marshes.  A  confusion  is 
also  to  be  observed  in  ancient  and  modern  writers  with  regard  to 
the  line  of  the  walls  and  the  line  of  the  pomerium  marked  by 
stone  cippi.  The  two  are  almost  independent,  and  wide  apart. 
The  existing  remains  of  the  walls,  at  the  west  corner  of  the  hill, 
are  220  metres  distant  from  the  site  of  the  Ara  Maxima,  which 
was  itself  within  the  pomerium.  The  walls  of  Romulus  have 
been  discovered  in  six  places,  marked  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F  in  the 
annexed  map.     They  will  be  described  in  Book  II.  §  viii. 

XVII.  Other  Walls  of  the  Kingly  Period.  —  Although 
we  find  in  classic  texts  mention  of  what  may  have  been  fortifica- 
tions, independent  of  those  on  the  Palatine,  —  like  the  Murus  Ter- 
reus  Carinarum,  the  Capitolium  Vetus,  and  the  arx  or  citadel  on 
the  Aracoeli  summit  of  the  Capitoline  hill,  —  yet  there  is  but  one 
existing  relic  which  can  possibly  be  considered  as  such :  a  frag- 
ment of  a  wall  in  a  garden,  Via  dell'  Arco  di  Settimio,  No.  1.  It 
is  identical  in  material  and  style  of  masonry  with  the  walls  of  the 
Palatine. 

Literature. —  Stefano  Piale,  Del  secondo  recinfo  di  Romafatto  da  Numa, 
e  delh  af/f/wnte  def/li  altrt  re.  Rome,  183.3.  —  Rodolfo  LaiU'iani,  Annali  Imti- 
ttito,  I9,i\,  p.  42.  — Arthur  Scheiner,  Aua  Roms  Frnhezeit.  (Mittheil.,  1895,  p. 
160.) 

XVIII.  The  Walls  of  Servius  Tullius.  — In  the  eulogy 
of  Bartolomeo  Borghesi  the  late  Comm.  de  Rossi  remarks  justly 
that  we  know  more  on  some  points  of  Roman  history,  institutions, 
religion,  etc.,  than  the  ancients  did.  The  same  thing  may  be  re- 
peated as  regards  some  points  of  Roman  topography.  Dionysius, 
for  instance,  says  that  the  walls  of  Servius  Tidlius  had  become 
5v(T(vpfTot  1  in  tlie  Augustan  age,  on  account  of  the  structures  of 

1  Difficult  t(i  trace. 


THE    WALLS    OF  SERVIUS    TULLIUS 


61 


'//jarlLi/,  /■'■■■ 

;/./;//A-77'>/^ 


Fig.  25. 


every  descrii^tion,  public  and  private,  which  had  been  built 
against,  across,  and  above  them.  Owing  to  discoveries  made  since 
1860  we  can  trace  the  line  of  the  Servian  walls  and  of  the  agger, 
describe  its  structure,  and  locate 

its  gates  more  exactly  than  Dio-  SECTION   OF  WALLS 

nysius  could  have  done. 

The  walls  run  against  the  face 
of  the  cliffs  (of  the  Capitoline, 
(iuirinal,  Oppian,  Ca^lian,  and 
Aventine)  at  two  thirds  of  their 
height  above  the  plain,  and  cross 
the  intervening  vallej's  at  their 
narrowest  point. 

They  are  built  of  blocks  of 
tufa,  exactly  2  feet  high  (0.59 
metre),  placed  alternately 
lengthwise  and  crosswise,  the 
tufa  being  of  an  inferior  quality 
and  yellowish  gray  in  color. 
The  thickness  of  the  wall  varies  from  2  to  Z\  metres  ;  the  maxi- 
mum height  yet  discovered  is  12.98  metres  (Vigna  Torlonia,  Aven- 
tine, Fig.  29).  The  blocks  are  not  cemented,  at  least  not  in  the 
original  structure.  I  have  only  once  found  traces  of  lime,  in  a 
joint  of  one  of  the  buttresses  (corner  of  Via  Volturno  and  Gaeta) ; 
but,  as  a  rule,  the  use  of  cohesive  substances  seems  to  have  l)een 
unknown  to  or  despised  by  the  engineers  of  Servius.  The  blocks 
which  form  the  face  of  the  wall  are  well  squared,  and  fit  into 
each  other  so  that  the  joints  are  rendered  almost  invisible,  but 
they  are  irregularly  cut  inside.  On  the  Aventine,  however,  and 
especially  in  the  space  between  the  church  of  S.  Saba  and  that  of 
II  Priorato  di  Malta,  the  walls,  instead  of  resting  against  the  live 
rock  of  the  cliffs  or  the  earth  of  the  slopes,  have  an  inside  lin- 
ing of  concrete,  the  thickness  of  which  equals  or  exceeds  that  of 
the  opus  quadratum  itself.  This  part  of  the  fortifications  is  not 
original,  but  seems  to  have  been  rebuilt  or  strengthened  by 
Camillus. 

Across  the  valleys  or  tablelands  the  system  of  defense  varies 
altogether.  There  is  a  ditch,  and  an  embankment  made  with  the 
earth  excavated  from  the  ditch.  Tlie  embankment  is  supported 
on  the  outer  side  by  a  strong  wall,  fortified  with  buttresses,  while 
on  the  inner  side  it  slopes  down  at  an  incline  of  35°  or  40°. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  .second  supporting  wall  on  the' inner  side, 


62 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


weaker  and  much  lower  than  the  outer  one.  Two  roads  run  par- 
allel with  the  fortification,  one  at  the  foot  of  the  inner  wall,  one 
on  the  outer  edge  of  the  ditch.  This  system  of  defense  was 
called  an  agger. 

Topographical  books  state  that  in  the  circuit  of  tlie  Servian 
city  there  was  but  one  agger,  between  the  Colline  and  the  Esqui- 
line  gates  ;  but  recent  discoveries  prove  that  all  weak  points  of  the 
circuit  were  fortified  in  that  way.  We  have  found  the  agger  in 
the  higher  part  of  the  Esquiline,  near  tiie  Palazzo  Field,  Via 
Merulana ;  on  the  Smaller  Aventine,  near  S.  Saba  ;  and  on  the  Quiri- 
nal,  by  the  Piazza  di  Magnanapoli,  etc.  Yet  there  is  no  denying 
that  the  one  between  the  Colline  and  Esquiline  gates,  for  strength, 
size,  elevation,  and  length,  is  the  agger  juor  excellence,  from  which 
a  street  (subager)  and  a  promenade  {nunc  licet  aggere  in  aprico 
spatiari)  were  named  in  classic  times,  and  a  whole  district  (Mons 
Superagius)  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

I  shall  point  out  to  the  reader  now  which  of  the  remains  of  this 

SECTION    OF  AGGER 


Fig.  2C. 


venerable  fortification  deserve  a  visit,  and  which  are  the  sites  of 
its  historical  gates.  (See  map  of  Walls.)  First,  as  to  the  river- 
front, Livy  (ii.  10)  and  Dionysius  (v.  23)  distinctly  as.sert  that  the 
bank  was  unprotected,  because  the  river  itself,  with  its  wide  bed 
and  swift  current,  was  considered  to  afford  a  sufficient  protection. 
Yet  there  is  no  portion  of  the  whole  circuit  of  the  Servian  city  at 
which  the  fortifications  are  more  evident  or  better  preserved  than 
at  the  river-front.  I  made  designs  of  every  fragment  of  them 
before  the  construction  of  the  modern  quays,  and  I  do  not  think 
there  is  a  break  of  50  metres  between  the  two  extreme  points 
(marked  approximately  by  the  Pons  Fabricius  and  the  Pons  Sub- 


THE    WALLS    OF   SERVIUS    TULLIUS  63 

licius).  The  construction  is  the  same  everywhere  :  a  foundation- 
wall  about  2  metres  high  above  low-water  mark,  forming  a  step 
or  a  landing  3  metres  wide,  and  a  wall  6  metres  high  sujjporting 
the  bank.  I  have  found  traces  of  cement  in  the  upper  layers  of 
stones,  as  well  as  traces  of  an  inner  lining  of  concrete.  Both  may 
l>ertain  to  later  restorations. 


FORUM     nOARIUM 


Fip.  27. 

The  walls  left  the  river  halfway  between  the  clinrclies  of  S. 
Maria  Egiziaca  and  S.  Nicola  in  Carcere,  and  readied  the  rocks  of 
the  Capitol  at  the  Via  della  Bufola.  Three  gates  opened  in  this 
short  tract :  the  Fluinentana  by  the  river  (Via  della  Fiumara, 
destroyed  1882),  the  Triumphalis  (Via  della  Bocca  della  Veritk), 
and  the  Carmentalis  (Via  delhi  Bufola).     Consult  — 

Adolf  Becker,  De  niurl.%  p.  81.  —  Eniil  Braun,  ^foniiment.  InM.,  1854,  p.  78, 
tav.  X.  —  Alessandvo  Donati,  De  urbe  Rama,  p.  7!t. 

The  Capitoline  was  strongly  fortified  on  the  side  facing  the 
Campus  Martins.  Remains  of  the  wall  can  be  seen  on  the  edge  of 
the  rock  which  supports  the  Caffarelli  palace  (I)  ;  on  the  ascent  to 
the  Piazza  del  Campidoglio,  called  "  La  salitadelle  tre  Pile  "  (II)  ; 
and  in  the  substructures  of  the  monument  to  Victor  Emmanuel 
(III).  They  intersected  the  Via  di  IMarforio  between  Nos.  Sl'^ 
and  8P,  where  the  Porta  Ratumena  must  1)e  located.  The  direc- 
tion of  the  Via  Flaminia,  which  issued  from  this  gate,  is  marked 
by  the  tomb  of  C.  Poplicius  Bibulus  on  one  side,  and  the  so-called 
tomb  of  the  Claudii  on  the  other. 

From  the  Porta  Ratumena  to  tlie  Porta  Foiitinalis,  under  the 
Palazzo  Antonelli,  Piazza  Magnanapoli,  the  walls  must  have  been 
destroyed  by  Trajan  when  he  cut  away  the  sjwr  of  the  Quirinal 
to  make  room  for  his  forum.  The  Porta  Fontinalis  is  the  only 
one  left  standing  in  the  whole  circuit  (IV).     Other  remains  are 


64  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

to  be  seen  in  the  beautiful  Villa  Colonna  (V),  upon  which  rest 
those  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun ;  others  under  the  Villa  Spithoever, 
Via  delle  Finanze  (VI).  Two  gates  opened  in  this  tract :  the 
Sanqvialis,  the  approximate  site  of  which  is  shown  by  the  tomb 
of  the  Sempronii,  discovered  in  1866  near  the  top  of  the  Salita 
della  Dataria ;  and  the  Porta  Salutaris,  under  the  Palazzo  Craw- 
shay,  Via  delle  Quattro  Fontane.  The  agger  began  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Via  di  Porta  Salaria  with  the  Via  venti  Settembre, 
crossed  the  Treasury  buildings,  the  Via  Volturno,  the  railway 
station,  the  Piazza  Fanti,  the  Via  Carlo  Alberto,  and  ended  near 
the  conservatory  of  the  gardens  of  Msecenas  in  the  Via  Merulana. 
It  was  almost  intact  before  the  construction  of  the  new  quarters 
and  of  the  railway  station ;  now  thex'e  are  scanty  remains  to  be 
seen  (VII)  in  the  Piazza  del  Maccao ;  in  the  goods  station.  Via  di 
Porta  S.  Lorenzo  (VIII)  ;  in  the  gardens  of  the  Acquario  Romano 
(IX)  ;  and  in  the  Via  Carlo  Alberto  (X).  The  Porta  Collina,  dis- 
covered in  1873  at  the  junction  of  the  Via  Goito  and  the  Via  venti 
Settembre,  was  destroyed  for  the  erection  of  the  northeast  pavilion 
of  the  Treasury  buildings.  (See  map  in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  14.5.) 
Traces  of  the  Porta  Viminalis  are  visible  in  the  goods  station, 
while  the  Porta  Esquilina  is  represented  by  the  ai"ch  of  Gallienus, 
Via  di  S.  Vito. 

The  annexed  cut  (Fig.  28)  i-epresents  an  excavation  made  in  1877 
at  the  foot  of  the  agger  to  determine  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the 
great  ditch.  It  seems  that  when  the  agger  itself  was  transformed 
into  a  public  walk,  the  ditch  was  filled  up,  and  turned  into  build- 
ing lots.  Traces  of  a  private  house  can  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of 
the  trench. 

Beyond  the  last  fragment  visible  in  the  Via  Merulana  (XI)  we 
lose  sight  of  the  fortifications,  although  their  course  and  the  site 
of  the  gates  Querquetulana,  Caelimontana,  and  a  third  near  the 
Piazza  della  Navicella,  can  be  distinctly  traced  from  discoveries 
made  in  times  gone  by. 

The  famous  Porta  Capena,  which  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
Appian  Way,  seems  to  have  been  discovered  twice  :  by  Orazio 
Orlandi  in  the  latter  part  of  last  century ;  and  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Parker 
in  1867,  in  the  slope  of  the  C?eliau,  behind  the  apse  of  S.  Gregorio. 
Parker  gives  a  view  of  his  excavation  in  Plate  xviii.  of  the  "  Aque- 
ducts of  Ancient  Rome  "  (London,  Murray,  1876).  The  site  of  the 
gate  can  be  determined  to-day  by  means  of  a  remarkable  fragment 
of  the  walls  (XII)  visible  in  the  wine-cellar  of  the  Osteria  della 
Porta  Capena,  in  the  gardens  of  S.  Gregorio,  Via  di  Porta  S. 
Sebastiano,  No.  1. 


THE    WALLS    OF   SERVIUS    TULLIUS  65 

On  the  other  side  of  the  valley  the  walls  appear  again,  in  front 
and  under  the  old  abbey  of  S.  Balbina,  now  a  house  of  refuse  for 


I 

^, 

,j„— 1, 

K-' 

Wt' 

0 

."^^^' 

■S^v^ 

\  , 

,jrd^ 

'%! 


Fig.  28.  —The  Ditch  of  the  Agger  of  Servius. 

women  (XIII)  ;  at  a  corner  of  the  Via  di  S.  Saba  and  the  Via  di 
Porta  S.  Paolo  (XIV)  ;  on  the  Via  di  Porta  S.  Paolo  itself,  where 


66  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

the  road  bifurcates,  one  arm  descending  towards  the  gate,  the 
other  towards  the  Monte  Testaccio  (XV).  This  is  the  finest  ruin 
of  all,  because  it  shows  the  restorations  of  the  time  of  Camillus 
resting  on  the  original  structure  of  Servius.  Fig.  29  represents 
the  i^resent  state  of  the  ruin,  but  more  than  half  of  it  is  concealed 
by  the  accumulation  of  modern  soil.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
see  it  completely  exposed  to  view  in  1868,  when  I  made  the  draw- 
ing a  facsimile  of  which  is  here  given. 

Tliere  is  another  fragment  to  be  seen  in  the  adjoining  Vigna 
Maccarani-Torlonia  (XVI),  some  stones  of  which  were  removed 
by  Padre  Secchi,  the  astronomer,  to  the  Observatory  of  tlie  Col- 
legio  Romano,  to  serve  as  a  pedestal  for  the  great  Merz  equatorial. 
The  walls  appear  again  against  the  cliff  of  the  Aventine,  at  the 
Arco  di  S.  Lazzaro,  Via  di  Marmorata  (XVII)  ;  and  lastly,  under 
the  convent  of  S.  Sabina,  where  they  were  laid  bai-e  in  1856 
(XVIII).  There  is  absolutely  no  trace  of  Servian  fortifications 
on  the  opposite  or  Transtiberine  side  of  the  river. 

Four  gates  opened  in  the  walls  between  the  Porta  Capena  and 
the  Tiber :  the  Naivia,  on  the  Via  Aventina,  from  which  issued 
the  Via  Ardeatina;  the  Rudusculana,  on  the  Via  di  Porta  S. 
Paolo,  from  which  issued  the  Via  Ostiensis ;  the  Navalis,  on  the 
Via  di  S.  Maria  Aveutinese  ;  and  the  Trigemina,  on  the  Via  di 
Marmorata. 

Many  stones  built  into  the  original  wall  of  Servius  are  marked 
with  signs  or  letters,  which  have  given  rise  to  much  speculation. 
Consult  — 

Luigi  Briizz.n,  Sopi-a  i  ser/ni  incisi  nci  7na.%ti  flvllc  iinirn,  etc.  (Annali  Inst., 
1876,  pis.  i,  k.)  —  Heinricli  .lorchui,  Topoyraphu',  vol.  i.  \i.  250,  pis.  1,  2. — 
Otto  Ricliter,   Uebvr  antlke  Steinmi'tzzeichtn,  1885. 

Literature.  —  Adolf  Becker,  Be  Romce  reteris  onuris  atque  portis,  p.  81; 
and  Topof/raphie,  p.  92.  —  Thomas  Uyer,  History  of  the  City  of  Rome,  p.  47. 
—  R.  Bergau,  Die  Befesiic/unc/  Romn  clurch  Tuvquinim  Prisms  unci  Serrius 
Tullius.  Gottingen,  isfn.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  BulJe  muru  e  porte  di  Servio 
(in  Ann.  Inst.,  1871,  )>.  40)  :  and  Bull.  urch.  com.,  1876,  pp.  24,  121.  — Heinrieh 
.Jordan,  Topot/rapliie,  vol.  i.  ji.  200.  — Otto  Ricliter,  i'(e  Befestiguny  des 
laniciiliim. 

XTX.  Walls  of  Aurelian  and  Probus,  a.  d.  272.  —  We 
have  no  account  of  the  construction  of  the  walls  of  Aurelian. 
We  only  k)iow,  in  a  general  way,  that  the  Emperor  was  compelled 
to  fortify  the  capital  by  the  bai'barian  invasion  of  a.  d.  271,  in  the 
course  of  which  the  enemy  had  reached  the  banks  of  the  Metaurus ; 
that,  during  the  respite  between  the  Marcomannic  and  tlie  Pal- 


WALLS    OF   SERVirS 


67 


68  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

myrene  campaigns,  he  inclosed  the  city  mui-is  quam  ralUlissimis, 
and  that  the  great  undertaking,  begun  in  272,  was  finished  by 
Probus  about  seven  years  hiter. 

The  circuit  of  tlie  walls,  which  I  have  measured  inch  by  inch  for 
the  construction  of  the  "  Forma  Urbis,"  measures  18,837  metres. 
The  strip  of  land  occupied  by  these  fortifications  is  19  metres 
wide  :  five  of  which  are  taken  by  the  inner  "  clieminde  ronde"  four 
by  the  walls  themselves,  ten  by  the  outside  road  ;  358,000  square 
metres  were  consequently  expropriated  by  Aurelian ;  and,  as  the 
land  was  thickly  covered  with  villas,  houses,  gardens,  and  tombs, 
the  cost  of  purchase  must  have  been  considerable.  At  20  lire  the 
square  metre  it  would  I'each  7,000,000  lire. 

The  walls  consist  of  a  solid  foundation  of  concrete  from  3.-50 
to  4  metres  thick,  faced  with  triangular  bricks ;  of  a  covered  way 
with  loopholes  on  the  outside,  and  a  gallery  or  arcade  in  the  inner 
side ;  and  a  terrace  or  balcony  above,  lined  with  battlements  (Fig. 
30).  There  are  towers  at  an  interval  of  100  Roman  feet  (29.70 
metres),  projecting  from  four  to  five  metres.  Each  tower  contains 
a  staircase  giving  access  to  the  lower  corridor  and  to  the  terrace 
above.  According  to  the  survey  made  by  Ammon,  after  the 
restoration  of  the  walls  by  Arcadius  and  Honorius  in  403,  there 
wei'e  381  towers  in  all,  exclusive  of  those  of  the  mausoleum  of 
Hadrian  (Hadrianium),  which  had  been  converted  into  a  tete  du 
pont,  to  prevent  the  approach  of  the  enemy  from  the  Via  Tri- 
umphalis  and  the  Prata  Neronis.  Of  these  381  towers  only  one 
has  come  down  to  us  in  a  perfect  state  —  the  sixth  to  the  left 
of  the  Porta  Salaria.  We  can  judge  from  its  elegance  and  good 
construction  that  the  builders  of  the  walls  had  tried  to  disfigure 
the  monumental  city  as  little  as  i:)ossible ;  we  can  judge  also  how 
much  damage  the  walls  must  have  suffered  in  the  course  of  cen- 
turies, to  be  reduced  to  their  present  state  of  decay ! 

These  noble  walls,  which  have  so  often  saved  the  city  from 
pillage  and  destruction,  on  the  face  of  which  our  history  is  wi'itten 
almost  year  by  year,  and  so  carefully  preserved  even  in  the  darkest 
period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  are  now  doomed  to  disappear.  State 
and  city  have  with  equal  promptness  declined  to  undergo  the 
expense  of  keeping  them  in  repair.  A  section  of  them,  70  metres 
long,  between  the  Porta  S.  Giovanni  and  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme, 
fell  in  1893.  The  only  measure  taken  was  a  warning  given  to 
passers-by  that  another  portion  would  soon  share  the  same  fate. 

The  volume  of  masonry  employed  in  tlie  construction  of  the  walls 
is  estimated  at  1,033,000  cubic  metres.     The  cost  at  the  present 


WALLS    OF  AURELIAN  AND   PROBUS 


69 


day  would  liave  exceeded  26,000,000  lire,  but  we  cannot  make  any 
calculation  for  Aurelian's   time,  because  we  do  not  know  what 


Fig.  30.  — The  Covered  Way  of  the  Walls  of  Aurelian,  Vigna  Casali. 

were  the  price  of  labor  and  the  cost  of  building-materials  in  his 
day.     As  a  rule  the  walls  are  built  with  the  spoils  of  the  edifices 


70  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

which  stood  on  their  line  and  were  demolished  to  clear  the  space ; 
only  the  surface  and  the  arches  are  coated  with  bricks  made  for 
the  occasion.  Two  recent  discoveries  illustrate  this  point ;  they 
also  bear  evidence  to  the  hurry  with  which  the  work  was  done, 
and  therefore  to  the  greatness  of  the  peril  from  which  Rome  had 
escaped.^ 

A  piece  of  the  walls  was  cut  away  in  November,  1884,  between 
the  third  and  the  fourth  tower  on  the  right  of  the  Porta  S. 
Lorenzo,  for  the  opening  of  the  new  Viale  del  Camposanto.  An 
older  construction  had  been  embedded  there  in  the  thickness  of 
the  masonry,  viz.,  a  garden  wall  incrusted  with  shells,  enamel,  and 
pumice-stones,  with  niches  worked  in  a  rough  kind  of  mosaic, 
and  crowned  by  a  cornice  covered  with  sheets  of  lead.  When 
Aurelian's  engineers  met  with  this  obstacle,  they  did  not  lose 
time  in  demolishing  it,  but  embedded  it  in  their  own  masonry. 
So  far,  this  is  not  remarkable ;  but  what  remains  inexplicable  is 
that  the  statues  were  not  removed  from  their  niches. 

We  have  found  them  one  by  one  in  their  original  places,  and 
they  are  not  the  work  of  an  ordinary  chisel,  but  delicate  pieces  of 
Graeco-Ronuxn  sculpture,  so  much  so  that  Professor  Petersen  lias  not 
disdained  to  give  illustrations  of  them  in  the  "  Bull.  arch,  com.," 
vol.  xvii.,  a.  1889,  p.  17,  tav.  1,  2.  The  statues  and  the  whole  front 
of  the  garden  wall  were  not  damaged  by  the  new  consti'uction  be- 
cause the  engineers  had  taken  care  to  protect  them  with  a  coating 
of  clay.  Traces  of  this  nymphseum  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  left 
of  the  new  Barriera  di  S.  Lorenzo.  The  second  discovery  was  made 
in  February,  1892,  on  the  line  of  the  Via  INIontebello,  between  the 
garden  of  the  English  Embassy  and  the  Praetorian  Camp.  Here  a 
private  house  of  the  first  century  stood  on  tlie  line  of  tlie  walls. 
One  would  have  expected  the  house  to  be  leveled  to  the  ground, 
and  the  walls  raised  on  the  space  left  free  by  the  demolition ;  but 
the  engineers,  in  their  haste,  satisfied  themselves  with  filling  up 
the  space  between  the  sides  of  each  room,  leaving  intact  mosaic 
pavements,  marble  stairs,  lintels,  thresholds,  and  frescoes.  This 
done,  as  soon  as  their  own  masonry  was  sufficiently  hardened,  they 

1  The  victorj'  of  Aiirelian  on  the  hanks  of  the  Metaurus  must  have  been 
so  decisive  that  the  whole  Empire  rejoiced  at  it.  It  is  recorded  even  in  the 
formulaj  of  contemporary  gaming-tables  (labulm  lusnrim).  One  of  these, 
discovered  in  1892  in  the  catacombs  of  Priscilla,  contains  the  words, "  hostes  • 
victos  •  Italia  •  gaudet  •  Indite  •  Romani;"  another,  discovered  almost  at  the 
same  time,  in  the  cemetery  of  S.  Eucharius  at  Treves,  says,  "virtus  •  imperi  • 
hostes  •  vincti  •  liidant  ■  Romani." 


WALLS    OF   AURELIAN   AND   PROBUS  71 

shaved  off,  as  it  were,  whatever  projected  on  either  side,  and  went 
on  with  their  work. 

We  come  now  to  an  important,  and  altogetlier  new,  point  of 
research.  For  what  cause,  and  from  what  military,  teclmical,  or 
financial  reasons,  was  this  special  course  of  the  walls  selected  ? 
and  why  were  some  important  districts  of  the  city  left  out,  others 
included  which  contained  nothing  but  tombs  ?  The  answer  is 
easily  given.  The  com'se  selected  was  that  of  the  octroi,  which 
followed  closely  that  of  the  pomerium,  or  in  other  words,  the 
line  of  separation  between  the  city  proper  (continentia  cedijicla) 
and  the  suburbs  (^expatiantia  tecla).  Much  has  been  written  about 
the  octroi  line  by  — 

Theodor  Mommsen,  Bcrkhte  rl.  sacks.  Gesillsc/i. ,lHbO,  p.  3()U.  — Gio.  Battista 
dc  Rossi,  Archavol.  Anztlf/vr,  1850,  p.  147  ;  and  Piunte  di  Roma,  ch.  vii.  p.  46. 
—  Corpus  /user.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1016,  n,  b,  c.  —  Ephemeris  Ejjiijr.,  vol.  iv.  p.  276. — 
Rodolfo  Lauciaiii,  Bull.  arch,  com.,  vol.  xx.,  1892,  p.  93. 

It  was  marked  by  stone  cippi,  five  of  which  have  been  described 
by  epigraphists.  The  first  was  found,  at  the  time  of  Andrea 
Fulvio,  on  the  landing-place  of  the  Tiber,  under  the  Aventine.  It 
bore  this  inscription :  — 

QVICQVID    VSVARIVM    INVEHITYR    ANSARIVM    NON    DEBET, 

which  proves  that  duties  were  levied  also  on  some  kind  of  mer- 
chandise and  provisions  which  came  by  water.  The  other  four 
belong  to  the  reorganization  of  the  octroi  made  by  M.  Aurelius  and 
Commodus  al)oat  the  year  a.  d.  175,  and  they  are  all  inscribed  with 
the  same  regulations  :  "  These  terminal  stones  have  been  set  up,  in 
consequence  of  the  quarrels  which  often  arise  between  the  importers 
and  the  tax-receivers,  to  show  which  is  the  exact  line  of  the  octioi 
according  to  the  ancient  custom." 

The  place  of  discovery  of  the  first  stone  is  uncertain  ;  the  second 
was  found  near  the  Porta  Salaria ;  the  third  near  the  Porta  Flami- 
nia ;  the  fourth  near  the  Porta  Asinaria.  They  stood,  therefore,  on 
the  very  line  followed  a  century  later  by  Aurelian's  waUs.  Now  it  is 
evident  that  whoever  establishes  a  financial  barrier  round  an  open 
city  must  try  to  take  advantage  of  every  existing  natural  or  artificial 
obstacle  to  prevent  smuggling  and  fraud.  Another  obvious  pre- 
caution is  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the  number  of  openings,  so  as 
to  save  the  expense  of  a  large  staff  of  officers.  Between  two  ojien- 
ings,  viz.,  between  two  toll-houses,  they  must  have  raised  palisades, 
stone  walls,  hedges,  or  excavated  ditches,  unless  the  obstacles 
offered  by  the  undulations  of  the  ground  or  by  public   edifices 


72  GENERAL    LNFORMATION 

afforded  sufficient  protection  against  snmggiing.  This  was  exactly 
the  case  with  Rome,  where  one  sixth  of  the  whole  octroi  line  had 
been  found  ready-made  by  the  substructure  of  the  Horti  Aciliani 
on  the  Pincian  (550  metres)  ;  by  the  inclosure  wall  of  the  Ilorti  Sal- 
lustiani  (1200  metres),  and  of  the  Praetorian  Camp  (1050  metres)  ; 
by  the  arcades  of  the  Marcian  (SCO  meti'es)  and  of  the  Claudian 
aqueducts  (475  metres)  ;  and  lastly,  by  the  Amphitheatrum  Cas- 
treuse  (100  metres).  The  octroi  line,  therefore,  of  the  time  of  M. 
Aurelius  and  Commodus  comprised  an  inclosure  built  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  financial  strategy,  with  first-class  gates  and  custom-houses 
on  the  main  roads  and  river  landings,  and  with  posterns  and  small 
pickets  on  the  smaller  lanes  and  landings  of  ferry-boats.  From 
such  financial  fortifications  to  the  walls  of  Aurelian  the  step  is  very 
short.  Aurelian  simply  changed  into  a  strong  bulwark  the  octroi 
inclosure,  respecting  its  gates,  posterns,  and  ferries. 

Rkferences.  —  Arlolf  Becker,  De  muris  atque  jwrtis.  Leipsic,  1842.  — 
Antonio  Nibby  and  William  Gell,  Le  mwa  di  Romn,  1820.  —  Eugene  Miintz, 
Les  arts  a  In  cour  des  Papes,  passim.  — G.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Bull,  arch  crist., 
serie  v.,  anno  ii.,  1891,  p.  35.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Le  mum  di  Aureliano  e  di 
Probo:  Bull.  arch,  com.,  xx.  p.  87. 

The  late  John  Henry  Parker  prepared  illustrations  of  the  walls  of  Aurelian 
by  numerous  drawings  and  photographs,  the  first  by  Cicconetti,  the  second  by 
Lucchetti.  The  collection  of  drawings  belongs  now  to  the  Conimissione  Arch, 
comunale  di  Roma  ;  the  negatives  of  the  photographic  collection  were  de- 
stroyed by  tire  in  July,  1893. 

XX.  Restoration  of  the  Walls  by  Hoxorius.  —  The  re- 
storation of  the  walls  by  Ai'cadius  and  Honorius  was  commenced, 
according  to  Claudianus,  "  audito  rumore  Getarum,"  from  the  fear 
of  an  advance  of  the  Goths  under  Alaric,  and  was  completed  in 
January,  402,  under  the  direction  of  Stilicho.  The  great  under- 
taking was  celebrated  by  several  inscriptions  engraved  above  tlie 
gates,  of  which  three  only  have  survived  destruction :  those  of  the 
portai  Tiburtina,  Prpenestina,  and  Portuensis.  (See  Corpus  Inscrip- 
tionum,  vol.  vi.  n.  1188-90.) 

These  inscriptions  speak  of  "  instauratos  in-bi  a^ternse  muros 
portas  ac  turres,  egestis  immensis  ruderibus,"  INIacrobius  Longini- 
anus  being  the  prefect  of  the  city.  The  catastrophe,  however,  was 
not  avoided,  but  deferred.  Alaric  crossed  the  Aljjs  from  Illyria 
towards  the  end  of  402,  and  showed  himself  before  the  walls 
of  INIilan,  while  Honorius  was  intrenching  himself  at  Ravenna. 
Stilicho,  by  a  miracle  of  energy  and  bravery,  collected  an  army, 
reached  the  Goths  at  Pollenzo,  and  defeated  them  in  the  spring  of 


RESTORATIOX   OF    THE    WALLS    BY  HONORIUS         73 

403.  The  victory  was  celebrated  by  Houoriiis  in  the  following 
year,  with  the  last  triumph  witnessed  in  Rome,  the  last  spark 
of  a  noble  light  about  to  vanish  forever.  The  pageant  marched 
along  the  walls  just  restored,  and  ended  at  the  triumphal  arch 
raised  to  the  glory  of  the  Emperor  and  his  associates  — 

QVOD  GETARVM  NATIOXKM  IX  OMNE  AEVVM  DOCVERE  EXTINGVI.^ 

Six  years  later,  on  August  24,  410,  Alaric  and  the  Getarum 
Natio  entered  Rome  by  the  Porta  Salaria  ! 

AVithout  entering  into  particulars  concerning  this  restoration  of 
the  walls  and  gates,  I  shall  only  dwell  a  moment  on  the  tale  it 
tells  about  the  fate  of  Rome  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century. 
Stilicho  and  Honorius  found  the  walls  almost  buried  under  a  mass 
of  rubbish  and  refuse  (imjnensa  rudera)  ;  and  as  they  had  neither 
time  nor  means  to  clear  the  rubbish  away  they  leveled  it  on  the 
spot,  and  raised  at  once  the  level  of  that  strip  of  city  land  from 
nine  to  thirteen  feet.  The  thresholds  of  the  porta;  Flaminia, 
Tiburtina,  Pr?enestina,  Ostiensis  of  Honorius  are  as  much  as  this 
above  those  of  the  time  of  Aurelian.  And  what  destructions  were 
accomplished  for  the  sake  of  providing  materials !  It  is  enough 
to  quote  the  instance  of  the  Porta  Appia,  the  bastions  of  which 
were  rebuilt  of  solid  marltle,  from  the  celebrated  Temple  of  Mars 
which  stood  outside  the  gate. 

XXI.  Gates  of  Aurelian  and  Honorius.  —  The  gates  of 
the  city  of  Rome  have  seen  more  historical  events  during  the  16"24 
years  of  their  existence  than  any  other  monuments  of  the  ancient 
world.  Considering  that  even  the  volume  of  Gell  and  Nibby  is 
far  from  being  exhaustive  on  this  jioint  of  historical  topography,  T 
could  hardly  enter  into  the  subject  myself.  The  student  will  find 
detailed  information  in  the  works  mentioned  below. 

Starting  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber,  above  the  Ponte  Mar- 
gherita,  we  must  mention,  first,  the  corner  tower  of  great  strength, 
which  was  considered  by  the  Romans  to  be  haunted  by  the  ghost 
of  Xero:  uhl  iimhra  Neronis  diu  mansitavit.  Later  it  was  called  Lo 
Trullo. 

C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1877,  p.  195.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani, 
Forma  Urhi^,  pi.  1.  —  Constantino  Corvisieri,  Archivio  Societa  storia  patria, 
vol.  i.  p.  92,  n.  1. 

Between  the  river  and  the  Porta  Flaminia  (del  Popolo)  there 

1  See  Corjnis  Inscripiionum,  vol.  vi.  n.  1196.  The  inscription  of  the  arch 
refers  also  to  the  victory  gained  by  Stilicho  over  Radagaisus  in  405. 


74  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

was  a  beautiful  tomb,  upon  which  the  third  tower  left  of  the  gate 
is  planted. 
Ludwig  Urlichs,  Codex  topogr.,  p.  243.  —  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1891,  p.  140. 

The  Porta  Flaminia  of  llouorius,  flanked  by  two  round  towers, 
was  discovered  in  1877  during  the  demolition  of  the  two  square 
bastions  of  Sixtus  IV. 

C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1877,  p.  209. — Constantino  Corvi- 
^\e.Y\,  Archivlo  Societa  storia  patria,  vol.  i.  p.  79,  n.  1.  —  Pasqiiale  Adinolfi, 
Roma  nell'  eta,  di  mezzo,  vol.  i.  p.  81.  —  Giuseppe  Tomniasetti,  Archivlo  Societa 
storia  patria,  vol.  vi.  p.  173. 

Behind  the  apse  of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo  the  walls  reach  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  Pincian  liill,  the  substVuctures  of  which, 
built  by  the  Acilii  Glabriones,  were  so  gigantic  in  size  and  height 
that  no  extra  works  of  defense  were  added  to  them  by  Aiirelian. 
At  the  opposite  or  northeast  corner  of  the  hill  we  find  the  "  muro 
torto,"  a  piece  of  the  substructure  which  is  inclined  outwards  at 
an  angle  of  six  or  seven  degrees.  Procopius  (Goth.,  i.  23)  de- 
scribes it  exactly  as  we  see  it  now.  In  the  Middle  Ages  women 
of  ill  fame  were  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  inclined  wall,  and  in 
more  modern  times  men  and  women  who  died  impenitent. 

The  Porta  Pinciana,  originally  a  modest  postern,  was  trans- 
formed into  its  present  shape  by  Belisarius.  It  opens  on  the  Via 
Salaria  vetus,  which  took  the  name  of  Pincia  or  Pinciana  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  century.  This  gate  will  always  get  a  share  of 
the  interest  we  feel  for  the  gallant  defender  of  Rome  in  .537.  The 
Goths  of  Vitiges  were  encamped  on  the  INIonti  Parioli,  watching 
the  Porta  Pinciana ;  and  on  the  site  of  the  Villa  Albani,  watching 
the  Porta  Salaria.  The  best  feat  of  the  siege  was  the  sally  made 
by  Belisarius,  in  the  course  of  which  the  barbarians  were  driven 
back  as  far  as  the  Anio.  The  Byzantine  leader  rode  a  white 
charger  named  ^d\iov  by  Procopius,  and  Balan  by  the  Goths ;  but 
in  spite  of  prodigies  of  valor,  his  men  began  to  waver,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  retreat.  The  garrison  of  the  Porta  Pinciana,  not 
recognizing  the  leader,  covered  as  he  was  with  dust  and  blood, 
obliged  the  retreating  party  to  face  the  enemy  again  and  drive 
them  away  from  the  walls.  Belisarius  at  last  entered  the  gate 
amidst  frantic  cheering,  and  his  name  was  given  to  the  gate  itself 
(Porta  Belisaria)  in'memory  of  the  eventful  day. 

From  the  Pinciana  to  the  Salaria  the  walls  of  Aurelian  are  in 
splendid  preservation.  A  tower,  the  sixth  before  reaching  the  Sa- 
laria, is  the  only  perfect  one  in  the  whole  circuit.     The  Porta 


GATES    OF   AURELIAN  AND   HONORIUS  (O 

Salaria  of  Honorius,  injured  by  the  bombardment  of  September 
20,  1870,  was  rebuilt  in  the  present  form  by  Vespignani.  The 
discoveries  made  on  this  occasion  are  described  by  — 

C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  llfanciullo  Q.  Siilpicio  ^fassimo.  Rome,  1871.  —  Wil- 
helm  Henzen,  Sepulcri  untichi  rinvenutl  alia  porta  Salaria  (in  Bull.  Inst., 
1871,  p.  98.)  —  Giovanni  Ciofi,  Inscnpt.  .  .  .  Q.  Sulpicii  Maximi.  Rome, 
1871.— J.  H.  Parker,  Tombs  in  and  near  Rome,  Oxford,  1877,  pi.  10.  —  Ro- 
dolfo  Lanciani,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  280. 

The  Porta  Pia,  a  work  of  1561,  by  Matteo  da  Castello,  stands 
75  metres  to  the  left  of  the  ancient  gate  of  the  time  of  Honorius. 
It  was  first  called  Nomentana,  and  later  on,  Porta  S.  Agnetis  and 
Porta  della  Donna.  Its  two  round  towers  are  built,  as  usual,  over 
classic  tombs.  The  one  on  the  right  was  excavated  in  1827  by 
Zamboni.  It  belonged  to  Quintus  Haterius,  called  by  Tacitus 
"  senex  fcedissimoe  adulationis." 

After  passing  two  posterns  in  the  portion  of  the  walls  which 
surround  the  garden  of  the  Englisli  Embassy,  we  meet  with  the 
Pr.-etorian  camp,  described  in  Book  IV. ;  and,  on  the  other  side 
of  it,  with  the  Porta  Chiusa,  which  gave  access  to  the  Vivarium 
or  imperial  menagei'ie,  where  wild  beasts  were  kept  in  readiness 
for  tlie  games  of  the  amphitheatre.  The  walls  on  this  part  of 
the  city  have  been  largely  restored  with  blocks  of  stone,  from  the 
inclosure  wall  of  the  Vivarium. 

The  Porta  S.  Lorenzo,  spanning  the  Via  Tiburtina,  was  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  before  1869,  when  Pius  IX.  caused  it  to  be 
demolished,  to  make  use  of  the  stones  of  which  it  was  built  for 
the  foundations  of  the  Colonna  del  Concilio  on  the  Janiculum. 
The  gate  was  double :  the  outside  arch,  dating  from  the  time  of 
Augustus,  carried  the  Marcia,  Tepula,  and  Julia  over  the  road; 
the  inside  formed  part  of  the  fortifications.  Fig.  31  (preceding 
page),  from  a  photograph  taken  in  1868,  shows  tlie  rise  in  the 
level  of  tlie  city  from  the  time  of  Augustus  to  that  of  Honorius, 
as  the  threshold  of  the  gate  of  the  fourth  century  is  on  the  same 
level  with  the  spring  of  the  arch  of  Augustus. 

Between  the  Porta  Tiburtina  (S.  Lorenzo)  and  the  Prfenestina 
(Maggiore)  the  walls  follow  the  line  of  the  arcades  of  the  Marcia. 
Tepula,  and  Julia,  beautiful  remains  of  which  can  be  seen  in  the 
inner  side,  near  the  new  barriera. 

The  Porta  Prfenestina,  a  magnificent  work  of  Claudius  in  tlie 
so-called  rustic  style,  served  originally  for  the  tran.sit  of  the 
Claudia  and  Anio  Novus  over  the  roads  leading  to  Prseneste  and 
Labicum.     Honorius  walled  up  one  of  the  archw^ays,  and  fortified 


76 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


the  other  with  towers  resting  on  tombs.  Tlie  towers  and  the  gate 
were  destroyed  in  1838,  when  the  pcwariwn  of  the  baker  M.  Ver- 
gilius  Eurysaces  and  of  his  wife  Atistia  were  laid  bare. 


Tlie  Porta  S.  Lorenzo. 


Luigi  ("aiiina,  SuJ  Juogo  denomiiiato  la  Speranza  rercJiIa.  Rome,  1839.  — Bull. 
/ws^,"l8:i8,  |).  144.  —  .4'«».  hjsl.,  1838,  p.  -221. —Curjjus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  pp.  222, 
223  ;  vol.  vi.  n.  1958. 


GATES    OF   AURELIAX  AND   HONORIUS  77 

The  next  piece  of  the  wall,  from  the  Porta  Maggiore  to  S.  Croce 
in  Gerusalemme,  must  be  visited  from  the  garden  annexed  to  this 
church.  It  appears  like  a  combination  of  aqueducts  and  fortifi- 
cations, of  classic,  mediaeval,  and  modern  structures,  i\^'-clad  and 
exceedingly  picturesque.  The  entrance  is  from  the  first  gate  on 
the  left  of  the  church. 

After  passing  the  Amphitheatrum  Castrense,  described  in  Book 
IV.  §  XV.,  the  great  breach  produced  by  the  collapse  of  the  walls 
in  1893,  and  the  Porta  S.  Giovanni,  built  by  Gregory  XIII.  in 
l.')7o,  we  reach  the  Porta  Asinaria,  which,  although  sunk  deep  in 
the  ground,  is  one  of  the  best  preserved  of  Roman  gates.  Through 
it  Belisarius  entered  on  December  9,  .580,  while  the.  Gothic  garri- 
son was  escaping  by  the  Porta  Flaminia.  We  can  follow  the 
i:>rogress  of  one  and  the  retreat  of  the  other  army,  and  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  war,  by  the  way  contemporary  inscriptions  are  dated. 
In  the  lands  belonging  to  or  reconquered  by  the  Byzantines  the 
epitaplis  of  5o0  are  dated  "  post  consulatum  Belisarii ;  "  in  those 
occupied  by  the  Goths,  "  iterum  post  consulatum  Paulini  iunioris." 
There  was,  however,  in  Home  an  obscure  man  whose  faith  in  the 
liberation  of  the  city  from  the  barbaric  rule,  at  the  hand  of  Beli- 
sarius, was  never  shaken.  Ilis  tombstone,  now  in  the  "  Sacre 
Grotte  Vaticane,"  says  that  John,  the  book-keeper  of  the  tavern  of 
Isidorus,  had  died  on  May  '23,  536,  consvlatv  vilisari  viri 
CLAKissiMi.  It  was  engraved  six  months  before  the  retreat  of  the 
Goths.  Ten  years  later  the  same  gate  was  tlirown  open  to  Totila 
by  the  treachery  of  a  body  of  Isaurians. 

There  is  a  postern  under  the  Lateran  palace,  and  farther  on, 
where  the  IVIarrana  of  Calixtus  II.  enters  the  city,  a  gate  now 
closed,  the  classic  name  of  which  seems  to  be  Porta  Metroni.  An 
inscription  inside  it  mentions  the  restoration  of  this  stretch  of 
the  walls  made  in  11.")"  by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.,  R(egnante)  D(omino) 
N(ostro  Friderico)  8(emper)  A(ugusto).  The  erasure  of  the 
name  of  Barbarossa  must  have  taken  place  in  1167,  when  the  city 
was  besieged  by  the  allied  forces  of  the  Tusculans  and  of  tlie 
Empire. 

The  next  gate,  tlie  Latina,  is  beautifully  preserved,  but  closed 
like  the  Porta  Metroni.  There  is  the  Christian  monogram  above 
the  arch  between  the  mystic  letters  A  and  n. 

Antonio  XiMiy,  Ronm  anfirn,  vol.  i.  p.  148.  —  Giuseiipc  Tuniniasetti,  La  via 
Latina,  p.  fj.     IJome,  1880. 

The  Porta  S.  Sebastiano,  the  Appia  of  .\urelian  and  Ilonorius, 


78  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

was  rebuilt  by  the  latter  with  the  spoils  of  the  Temple  of  Mars 
"  extra  muros.''  1  am  sure  that  if  the  blocks  of  marble  could  be 
examined  from  the  inside  of  the  two  bastions,  they  would  all  be 
found  sculptured  or  engraved  like  those  of  the  Porta  del  Popolo 
of  Sixtus  IV.  On  the  right  post  of  the  gate,  and  concealed  by 
the  wooden  folding  frame,  is  engraved  the  figure  of  an  angel,  with 
the  inscription,  "  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1327,  xi.  indiction,  Sept. 
29,  in  the  feast  of  S.  Michael,  a  foreign  army  [that  of  King  Robert 
of  Naples]  tried  to  force  its  way  into  the  city,  but  was  repulsed 
by  the  people  of  Rome  led  by  Jacopo  de'  Ponziani." 

Orazio  Marucchi,  Silhir/e  di  alcune  iscrizioni,  etc.,  p.  100,  n.  47. 

On  the  right  of  the  Porta  S.  Sebastiano  opens  one  of  the  pos- 
terns used  only  in  jubilee  years,  and  walled  up  since  the  Na- 
poleonic times.  Others  are  to  be  seen  on  the  side  of  each  gate 
leading  to  great  places  of  pilgrimage,  like  the  Salaria  (Forma 
Urbis,  pi.  iii.),  the  Tiburtina,  and  the  Ostiensis.  After  the  tenth 
tower  there  is  a  fine  specimen  of  brickwork  of  the  time  of  the 
Antonines,  a  door  flanked  by  half  columns  of  the  Corinthian  order, 
with  finely  cut  capitals  and  frieze.  It  does  not  belong  to  a  tomb, 
as  Nibby  and  others  have  suggested,  but  to  a  private  villa  dis- 
covered at  the  beginning  of  this  century  in  the  Vigna  Volpi,  within 
the  walls. 

The  Rastione  del  Sangallo,  a  few  steps  farther  on,  carefully  kept 
in  repair  up  to  1870,  is  now  abandoned  to  its  fate,  and  its  brick 
facing  is  spoilt  by  vegetation  which  almost  hides  it  from  view. 
Huelsen  has  discovered  in  the  Ufiizi  the  original  design  of  Antonio 
da  Sangallo,  which  shows  the  portion  of  the  wall  destroyed  by 
Paul  III.  to  make  room  for  this  bulwark,  which  was  400  metres 
long,  with  nine  towers  and  one  gate.  The  gate  is  undoubtedly  the 
Ardeatina,  ou  the  subject  of  which  consult  — 

Antonio  Nibby,  Dint  ami  di  Romn,  vol.  iii.  p.  560.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi, 
Roma  sotterraiiea,  vol.  ii.  p.  8.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Topor/rajjhie,  vol.  i.  pp. 
2.33,  .3G8.  —  Giuseppe  Tommasetti,  Architno  Societa  storla  j)atria,  1879,  p.  385; 
1880,  p.  135.— Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheil.,  1894,  p.  320,  pi.  9. 

The  Porta  Ostiensis,  now  di  S.  Paolo,  the  last  on  the  left  bank, 
dates  from  the  time  of  Ilonorius,  its  level  being  nearly  four  metres 
higher  than  that  of  the  pyramid  of  Cestius.  The  treacherous 
Isaurians  thi-ew  it  open  to  the  Goths  in  549.  King  Ladislas  en- 
tered it  in  1407,  and  caused  it  to  be  walled  up,  but  the  Romans 
reopened  it  in  1410. 

The  walls  did  not  end  at  their  junction  with  the  Tiber,  but 


GATES    OF  AU RE  LI  AN  AND   HONORIUS  79 

turned  inwards,  following  the  left  bank  for  780  metres,  until  they 


■•J. 


Fig.  ;VJ.  -  l)(i(.r  nf  tlif  First  Oiitiirj-  Imilt  into  tlie  Walls  of  Aurclian. 

met  with  those  of   the  opposite  shore.     Tliere  were  two  great 
towers  to  protect  the  entrance  to  Rome  by  water,  a  chain  being 


80  GENERAL    INFORMATTON 

drawn  at  night  between  them.  The  towers  are  represented  in  the 
above  sketch  by  Van  der  Aa  (Fig.  33). 

The  walls  on  the  Transtiberine  side,  still  perfect  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  have  now  disappeared,  except  for  a  short  space  on  either 
side  of  the  Porta  Septimiana.  There  were  three  gates  :  the  Por- 
tuensis,  on  the  road  to  the  Portus  August! ;  the  Aurelia,  on  the 
top  of  the  Janiculuin ;  and  the  Septimiana,  on  the  road  towards 
the  Vatican  district. 

The  Portuensis  stood  453  metres  in  front  of  the  present  one, 
built  in  1644  by  Innocent  X.  Its  site  is  indicated  in  Nolli's  plan. 
It  had  a  double  archway,  and  on  the  frieze  above  was  engraved 
the  inscription  of  Ilonorius  (Corpus,  vi.  1190).  The  Aurelia  had 
changed  its  classic  name  into  that  of  S.  Pancratius  since  the  time 
of  Procopius.     Urban  VIIL  rebuilt  it  in  1044,  and  I'ius  IX.  after 


Pig.  33.  —  Tlie  Two  Towers  at  the  Entrance  to  the  Harbor  of  Rome. 

the  French  bombardment  of  1S49.     The  Septimiana  was  reduced 
to  its  present  state  by  Alexander  VI.  in  1498. 

XXII.  Walls  of  Leo  IV.,  Leopolis,  Joiiannipolis,  Lau- 
RENTiOPOLis.  —  The  construction  of  the  walls  of  Leo  IV.  for  the 
defense  of  the  Vatican  suburb  and  of  the  basilica  of  S.  Peter  is 
a  consequence  of  the  first  Saracenic  invasions.  From  Palermo 
and  Ca]ip  Lilybiieum,  which  had  already  been  named  Mars-allah 
(Marsala,  the  narl)or  of  (iod),  the  fleet  of  the  Infidels  sailed  for 
the  Bay  of  Naples  in  845,  and  after  a  long  stay  at  ]\Iisenum, 


WALLS    OF   LEO   LV  81 

advanced  towards  the  moiitli  of  the  Tiber  in  846.  The  i'eeble 
garrison  of  Gregorioi)olis  (Ostia.  recalled  to  life  and  fortified  by 
Gregory  IV.)  was  easily  overcome,  and  the  l)arbarians  were  pre- 
vented from  taking  possession  of  Rome  rather  by  the  strength  of 
its  walls  than  by  the  valor  of  its  defenders. 

To  revenge  themselves  for  their  repulse,  the  Saracens  wrecked 
the  two  suburban  churches  of  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul,  and  carried 
away  the  inestimable  treasures  which  the  faithful  had  accumulated 
in  the  course  of  centuries  over  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles.  The 
sight  of  the  burning  ruins  caused  the  death  of  Pope  Sergius  II., 
and  the  panic-stricken  citizens  elected  Leo  IV.  as  his  successor. 

A  curious  discovery  was  made  some  years  ago  by  Signor  Pietro 
Kocclii  in  connection  witii  one  of  these  Saracenic  inroads.  Wliile 
excavating  tiie  remains  of  a  temple,  in  the  farm  of  La  Valchetta, 
six  miles  below  Rome  on  the  road  to  Ostia,  he  discovered  tiaces 
of  one  of  their  camps,  consisting  mainly  of  daggers  and  poniards 
with  curved  blades  of  Oriental  make.  The  Saracens  liad  over- 
thrown the  temple,  but  columns,  frieze,  and  capitals  were  found 
lying  In  situ,  together  with  a  statue  of  liacchus  in  Pentelic  mar- 
ble. The  statue,  slightly  restored  by  Fabi-Altini,  adorned  the 
studio  of  the  late  Mr.  W.  W.  Story  in'l.S92. 

I^eo  IV.  lost  no  time  in  relieving  the  fortunes  of  Rome:  he 
nuide  an  alliance  with  (iaeta,  Amalfi,  and  Naples,  organized  a 
tieet,  and,  taking  the  command  of  the  allied  forces,  attacked  the 
Infidels  at  Ostia,  near  the  moutli  (if  the  Tiber,  and  gained  a  com- 
jilete  victory  over  them.^ 

To  i)revent,  however,  the  repetition  of  the  same  occurrence, 
the  ]X)])e  determined  to  surround  S.  Peter's  and  the  Borgo  with  a 
fortified  inclosure,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be  .seen  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Vatican  and  in  the  so-called  Corridojo  di  Castello. 

The  study  of  this  work  of  niediieval  military  engineering  is 
instructive,  and  .shows  how  carefully  Leo  IV.  liad  tried  to  imitate 
the  structure  of  the  Aurelian  walls.  For  those  who  have  not  the 
fjjiportunity  of  examining  the  Leonine  walls  in  the  gardens  of 
the  Vatican — where  the  best  jireserved  portion,  including  two 
round-towers,  is  to  be  seen — the  most  favorable  2)oint  of  observa- 
tion is  the  courtyard  adjoining  the  church  of  S.  Angelo  dei  Corri- 
dori.  The  wall  is  V2  feet  thick,  and  has,  or  rather  had,  a  double 
gallery,  —  one   in  the   thickness  of    the  wall,  supported  by  open 

1  This  naval  battle  has  been  (lescril)t'(l  l)y  (Jufilit'Imotti  in  chap.  xi.  of  tlie 
Sfuria  dclhi  maririd  ponfificiii,  and  illiisfratcd  by  Haphacl  in  fresco  No.  IV.  of 
the  Stntiza  dell^  /ncmi/in  di  Bovijo. 


82  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

arcades  on  the  inward  side,  and  one  on  the  top,  level  with  the 
battlements.  The  lower  gallery  was  afterwards  transformed  into 
a  passage,  II  Corridojo  di  Castello,  connecting  the  palace  of  the 
Vatican  with  the  fortress  of  S.  Angelo.  Many  popes  and  cardinals 
have  escaped  either  from  death  or  from  servitude  by  means  of 
this  corridor,  one  of  the  leading  historical  events  in  connection 
with  it  being  the  flight  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  from  the  hordes  of 
Charles  V.  led  by  the  Constable  de  Bourbon. 

The  length  of  the  wall  is  about  3000  metres  ;  the  height  varies 
from  15  to  22  metres;  the  most  exposed  angles  are  protected  by 
round-towers,  two  of  which  are  still  in  existence,  and  form  a  con- 
spicuous landmark  of  the  Vatican  landscape.  The  woi'k  does 
credit  to  Leo  IV.,  considering  the  poverty  of  the  means  at  his 
disposal.  Two  inscriptions  in  the  arch  which  spans  the  Via  di 
Porta  Angelica  give  important  details  of  the  scheme  adopted  to 
obtain  speedy  work  and  cheap  labor. 

The  first  says  :  "  In  the  time  of  our  Lord  the  Pope  Leo  IV.,  the 
Militia  Saltisina  has  built  these  two  towers  and  the  intermediate 
wall  (pcigina)  ;'^  the  other,  likewise:  "In  the  time  of  our  Lord 
the  Pope  Leo  IV.,  the  Militia  Capracorum  has  built  this  tower  and 
the  wall  which  connects  it  with  the  next."  It  appears  from  these 
inscriptions  that  the  citizens  of  Rome  being  unequal  to  the  task 
of  completing  the  fortification  in  the  required  time,  the  colonists 
of  the  domus  cultce  (fortified  farms  of  the  Campagna)  were  called 
upon  to  take  a  share  in  the  work.  Each  section  of  the  walls  was 
assigned  to  a  company  of  soldier  workmen  ;  and  here  we  find  the 
mention  of  two :  the  company  from  Capracorum,  that  is  to  say 
from  Veil  (Isola  Fai'uese),  whose  silent  ruins  had  been  recalled  to 
life  by  Hadrian  I. ;  and  the  company  from  Saltisina,  a  colony  on 
the  road  to  Ardea,  fifteen  miles  from  Rome.  Both  of  them  declare 
tliat  they  have  finished  their  special  part  of  the  construction 
under  the  direction  of  a  certain  Agatho,  who  seems  to  have  been 
the  designer  and  chief  engineer  of  the  walls.  The  new  city  was 
solemnly  styled  Civitas  Leoniana.  and  tables  inscribed  with  its 
name  were  fixed  on  each  gate. 

Other  records  of  this  work  have  been  collected  by  De  Rossi  in 
his  memoir  entitled  "  Le  prime  raccolte  di  antiche  iscrizioni " 
(Giornale  arcadico,  1850).  See  also  "  Inscriptiones  christianse 
Urbis  Romfe,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  324-326. 

There  were  three  gates  and  two  jiosterns  in  Leopolis.  The 
first,  called  Porta  S.  Petri,  opened  on  the  ^Elian  bridge  under  the 
bastions  of  the  Castle  (S.  Angelo).     The  second,  called  Posterula 


WALLS    OF  LEO   IV 


83 


S.  Angeli,  corresponds  approximately  witli  the  present  Porta  Cas- 
tello.  The  third,  called  Sancti  Peregrini  (near  the  Angelica  of 
Pins  IV.))  opened  nnder  the  pope's  residence  towards  the  Via  Tri- 
umphalis.  The  i'onrth,  Porta  in  Tnrrione,  corresponds  with  the 
Porta  Cavalleggeri  of  the  present  day.  The  fifth,  named  Poste- 
rula  Saxonum,  was  transformed  by  A.  da  Sangallo  into  the  monu- 
mental Porta  di  Santo  Spirito. 


Fig.  34.  —  Tower  of  Leo  IV.  in  the  Vatican  Gardens. 

ground. 


Bastions  of  Pius  IV.  in  the  fore- 


JoHANXiPOLis.  —  John  VIII.  in  880  did  for  S.  Paul's  what  Leo 
IV.  had  done  for  S.  Peter's,  with  this  difference,  that  while  the 
Vatican  Basilica  and  the  Borgo  A^ecchio  were  included  in  the  city, 
the  Basilica  Ostiensis  remained  a  detached  fort,  communicating 
with  the  city  by  means  of  a  portico  over  a  mile  long.  We  must 
acknowledge  that  the  Romans  did  not  show  the  same  zeal  and 
reverence  towards  the  two  Apostles.  S.  Paul's  tomb  was  allowed 
to  be  profaned  and  to  remain  abandoned  for  over  ten  years,  until 


84  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

the  poutificate  of  Benedict  III.  (855-858),  who  "  sepulchrum,  quod 
a  Sarracenis  destructum  fuerat,  perornavit."  The  fortifications 
were  begun  only  in  or  about  880,  and  consisted  of  walls  and  tow- 
ers, like  those  of  Borghetto,  Castel  Savello,  etc.,  including  a  con- 
siderable space  of  ground  on  either  side  of  the  road  to  Ostia,  and 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber.  An  inscription  in  seven  distichs, 
above  the  gate  facing  Rome,  contained  the  following  words  :  — 

PRiESVLIS  OCTAVI  DE  NOMINE   FACTA   lOHANNIS 
ECCE   lOHANNIPOLIS  VRBS  VENERANDA   CLVIT. 

The  fortress  was  of  considerable  strength,  as  we  can  argue  from 
the  vigorous  defense  which  Stefano  Corsi  made  in  it  against  Pope 
Paschal  II.  in  1099.  A  document  of  1074  sjieaks  of  the  castellum 
S.  Pauli  quod  vacatur  lohannipolis  as  still  in  good  condition  ;  but 
the  so-called  Anonymus  Magiiabecchianus,  who  wrote  between 
1410  and  1415,  says  that  it  had  disappeared  long  before  his  time. 
I  have  gone  over  the  ground  covered  by  Johannipolis  many  times, 
without  finding  a  trace  of  the  fortifications,  except  perhaps  on 
the  river-side,  where  I  saw  in  1890  ruins  of  what  appeared  to  be  a 
landing-stage. 

LiTERATUKK. — Muratori,  Antiqq.  med.  mv!,  vol.  ii.  dis!<.  xxvi.  p.  40.3. — 
Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi, /«sc?-.  christ.  Urbis  RoiruB,  vol.  ii.  p.  326.  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Leopolis  and  Johannipolis,  the  Esquiliiie,  .June,  1892. — Louis  Du- 
chesne, Liber  pontificnlis,  vol.  ii.  p.  298.  —  Giuseppe  Tommasetti,  Archivio 
storia  patria,  a.  1896,  fasc.  i. 

Laurentiopolis.  —  A  second  detached  fort  was  built  about  the 
same  time  for  the  protection  of  the  basilica  of  S.  Lorenzo  fuori  le 
Mura,  but  no  historical  document  mentions  the  fact.  S.  Lawrence 
was  held  by  the  Romans  almost  in  the  same  veneration  as  the  two 
Apostles,  and  a  portico  was  built  for  the  convenience  of  pilgrims 
from  the  Porta  Tiburtina  to  liis  grave,  exactly  like  those  which 
led  from  the  J^^lian  bridge  to  S.  Peter's  and  from  the  Porta  Osti- 
ensis  to  S.  Paul's.  A  document  of  the  time  of  Urban  VIII. 
(1623-44),  discovered  by  Armellini,  says  :  "  There  are  yet  con- 
siderable remains  of  the  wall  which  once  surrounded  the  basilica 
of  S.  Lorenzo  like  a  castle  ;  they  are  better  preserved  on  the  side 
of  the  Via  Tiburtina."  Laurentiopolis  has  now  completely  dis- 
appeared, but  I  am  able  to  reproduce  here  a  sketch  of  its  fortifi- 
cations drawn  about  1534  by  Martin  Heemskerk. 

XXm.  The  Fortifications  of  Paul  III.,  Pius  IV.,  and 
Urban  VIII.  —  The  horrors  which  Rome  suffered  at  the  time  of  the 
Sacco  del  Borbone,  in  1527,  were  still  fresh  in  the  memories  of  the 


FORTIFICATIONS    OF  PAUL    III  85 

Court  and  of  the  population  when  Cardinal  Farnese  was  elected 
pope  with  the  title  of  Paul  III.  One  of  the  first  thoughts  of 
this  great  and  generous  man  was  to  secure  the  city  from  a  repe- 
tition of  the  occurrence,  and  Antonio  da  Sangallo  was  commis- 
sioned to  draw  up  a  plan  for  the  fortifications.  The  survey  he 
made  of  the  ground  and  the  sketches  of  his  plan  of  defense  are 
preserved  in  the  I'ffizi  at  Florence.  (T)i^segni  301, 1015, 1019,  1481, 
1514,  etc.)  These  drawings  show  liis  proposal  to  reduce  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  walls  (on  the  left  bank)  by  one  third   at  least,  in- 


s,t>  ,: 


'  1 1   'mt^      ^ 


M<, 


43iiirr'^'  i/S^'i.  t^**^ 


Fig.  35.  —  The  Fortifications  of  Laurentiopolis.     By  M.  Heemskerk. 

closing  at  the  same  time  in  the  line  of  defenses  the  Borgo  Vati- 
cano,  which  was  very  inefiiciently  protected  by  the  crumbling 
walls  of  Leo  IV.  Bastions  with  double  wings  were  to  be  raised 
at  intervals  of  500  metres,  the  centres  of  defense  being  the  castle 
of  S.  Angelo  for  the  right  bank  and  the  Lateran  for  the  left. 

The  works  were  begun  at  once  with  great  determination,  but, 
as  time  passed  and  the  recollections  of  Bourbon's  atrocities  faded 
quietly  away,  tliey  were  given  np  altogetlier.  There  remain  as 
specimens  of  Antonio  da  Sangallo's  engineering  skill  —  (1)  the 
bastione  di  Belvedere  ;  (2)  the  bastion  of  the  Priorato  or  Aven- 
tino ;  (8)  the  bastion  of  the  Yigna  Cavalieri  or  Antoui(ni)ano ; 
(4)  the  foundations  of  a  third  l)astiou  under  S.  Saba.  Many 
plans  of  Rome  of  the  time  of  Paid  IV.  give  the  whole  system  of 
defenses  as  finished  ;  others  represent  the  earthworks  thrown  up 


86  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

in  haste  at  tlie  approach  of  the  duke  of  Alva.  The  best  of  all 
was  engraved  in  1557  by  Lafreri,  under  the  title  :  "  Recens  .  .  . 
topograpliia  cum  vallis,  fossis,  et  aggeribus  ceeterisque  qute  ad 
hostiuni  impediend(as)  irruptiones  per  universum  urb(is)  ani- 
bitum  .  .  .  lieri  curavit  raul(us)  II II.  dum  bello  parthenop(eio) 
premeretur."     Pius  IV.  fortified  the  Borgo  Nuovo  in  1562. 

Urban  VIII.,  fearing  the  hostile  action  of  the  duke  of  Parma, 
began  in  1642  a  new^  line  of  walls  on  the  ridge  of  the  Janiculum, 
which  are  still  kept  in  repair  for  military  purposes.  They  start 
from  the  Porta  Tvirrionis  of  Leo  IV.  (Cavalleggeri),  and  reach  the 
Tiber  at  liipa  Grande.  Among  the  works  of  art  discovered  in 
building  these  bastions,  Bartoli  mentions  "  many  statues,  one  of 
which,  of  bronze,  is  now  in  the  Barberini  palace,  a  bisellium  or 
magistrate's  chair  of  bronze  inlaid  with  silver,  and  several  objects 
of  curiosity."  The  Ijronze  statue  represents  Septimius  Severus, 
and  was  probably  set  up  in  the  garden  of  his  son  Septinnus  Geta. 
It  was  lately  in  the  possession  of  Prince  Sciarra,  and  must  have 
shared  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  his  valuable  collections.  Urban 
VIII.  built  but  one  gate,  the  Porta  S.  Pancrazio,  ruined  by  the 
French  guns  in  1849.  The  scarce  engraving  of  the  time,  repro- 
duced on  the  opposite  page,  shows  the  entry  of  the  invaders  on  July 
4th  of  that  year. 

Referknces.  —  Vincenzo  de  Marchi,  ArchittUura  militnre,  p.  2  A,  ed. 
1590.  —  Maggi,  FortifrnzUme,  p.  115,  Venice,  1564.  —  Scamozzi,  ArchUettura 
univermle,  p.  108,  Venice,  1615.  —  Alberto  Gnglielmotti,  Storia  delle  fortifi- 
cazioni  della  gpinr/f/ia  romnna,  viii.  2,  p.  320.  —  Mario  Borgatti,  Le.  mum  di 
Roma,  in  Rivista  di  Artiglieria  e  Genio,  1890,  p.  391.  —  Christian  Huelsen, 
Mittheilunr/en,  1894,  p.  328. 

XXIV.  Modern  Fortifications.  —  Eighteen  outlying  forts 
and  batteries  have  been  raised  by  the  Italian  government  for 
the  protection  of  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  against  a  coup  de 
main  from  the  sea.  They  follow  each  other  in  this  order,  going 
from  left  to  right :  T.  Monte  Antemne  ;  II.  Batteria  Xomentana ; 
III.   Pratalata ;    IV.  Tiburtino ;    V.  Prenestino ;   VI.    Tusculano ; 

VII.  Porta  Furba ;  VIII.  Appia  Pignattelli ;  IX.  Appia  Antica ; 
X.  Ardeatino;  XI.  Ostiense;  XIL  Portuense;  XIII.  Bravetta 
(Villa  Troiani)  ;  XIV.  Aurelia  Antica;  XV.  Boccea,  on  the  Via 
Cornelia;  XVT.  Casal  Braschi,  on  the  Via  Traiana:  XVII.  Trion- 
fale;  XVIII.  Monte  Mario.  Xo  objects  or  ruins  of  archfeological 
interest  have  been  discovered  in  building  forts  numbers  III,  V, 

VIII,  XVI,  and  XVII ;  the  construction  of  the  others  has  given 
occasion  for  valual)le  finds.  They  are  described  most  carefully  in 
the  "  Notizie  degli  Scavi "  from  1876  to  1884. 


THE   FOURTEEN  REGlONii    OF   AUGUSTUS 


87 


XXV.  The  Fourteen  Regions  of  Augustus.  —  Whoever 
undertakes  to  separate  into  a  certain  number  of  wards  a  city, 
not  new  or  young,  but  many  centuries  old,  and  already  divided 
roughly  by  the  undulations  of  tJie  ground,  by  popular  habits,  by 
relationship  of  neighborhood,  must,  if  he  wants  to  succeed,  pay 
attention  to  all  these  elements.  Augustus,  in  attempting  this 
reform  between  10  and  4  b.  c,  must  have  felt  embarrassed  in 
the  selection  of  fundamental  lines,  because  the  city  had  no  cardo 


Fig.  3G.  — The  French  Array  entering  the  Porta  S.  I'aucrazio,  July  4,  1849. 


or  decumamis,  and  its  plan  was  "magis  occupataj  urbis  quam 
divisai  similis."  He  selected  as  a  cardo  or  meridian  a  line  which 
started  from  the  lianks  of  the  Almo,  beyond  the  first  milestone 
of  the  Appian  Way,  followed  northwards  this  way  to  tlie  Porta 
Capena,  and  thence  the  east  side  of  the  Circus  ]\Iaximus  (Via  de' 
Cerchi),  the  Vicus  Tuscus  (di  S.  Teodoro),  the  Clivus  Argenta- 
rius  (di  Marforio),  and  the  Via  Flaminia  (Corso)  to  the  first 
milestone.  On  this  basis  (ancient  maps  and  geodetic  operations 
in  general  started  from  the  south  instead  of  the  north)  he  divided 
the  ground  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  into  thirteen  wards  or 
refjiones,  and  made  the  fourteenth  out  of  the  Trastevere.  The 
elements  of  the  division  are  —  (1)  The  meridian  line  just  alluded 


88  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

to ;  (2)  the  Palatine  hill,  selected  as  a  centre ;  (3)  the  line  of  the 
Servian  walls ;  (4)  the  main  thoroughfares  leading  from  the  centre 
of  the  city  to  the  gates  of  Servius.  However,  as  in  the  Augustan 
age  the  city  had  extended  far  beyond  the  line  of  the  Servian  walls, 
and  populous  suburbs  had  sprung  up  along  the  main  consular 
roads,  six  regions  were  established  "  extra  muros  "  (I,  V,  VII,  IX, 
XII,  XIV),  eight  "intra  muros"  (II,  III,  IV,  VI,  VIII,  X,  XI, 
XIII). 1  This  simple  and  practical  operation  is  illustrated  by  the 
sketch-map  on  the  opposite  page. 

In  Constantine's  time  the  fourteen  regions  bore  the  names  of 
I.  Porta  Capena,  II.  Cfelimontium,  III.  Isis  et  Serapis,  IV. 
Templum  Pacis,  V.  Esquilia;,  VI.  Alta  Semita,  VII.  Via  Lata, 
VIII.  Forum  Romanum,  IX.  Circus  Flaminius,  X.  Palatinum,  XI. 
Circus  Maximus,  XII.  Piscina  Publica,  XIII.  Aventinus,  XIV. 
Transtiberim.  Some  of  these  names  cannot  be  original,  because 
at  the  time  of  Augustus  there  was  no  temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis 
on  the  Oppian,  no  temple  of  Peace  near  the  Carinae,  and  probably 
no  Via  Lata  at  the  foot  of  the  Quirinal.  The  original  wards  were 
probably  distinguished  by  a  number  from  I  to  XIV,  counted  from 
right  to  left. 

We  have  two  documents  on  the  statistics  of  each  region,  the 
Notitia  and  the  Curiosum,  about  which  the  reader  may  consult 
Preller's  "  Regionen "  mentioned  below,  and  Jordan,  "  Topogra- 
phic," vol.  ii.  (Untersuchungen  liber  die  Beschreibung  der  XIV 
Regionen),  pp.  1-312  and  pp.  539-582. 

Both  documents  are  of  the  fourtli  century,  and  therefore  their 
statistics  cannot  l)e  made  use  of  in  speaking  of  the  Augustan 
reform ;  still  they  may  help  us  in  a  great  measure,  because  many 
regions  bounded  by  fixed  barriei*s,  like  the  Tiber  and  the  Servian 
walls,  could  not  expand  with  the  increase  of  the  population  like 
those  "  extra  muros."  Regions  II,  III,  IV,  VI,  VIII,  X,  XI  of 
the  fourth  century,  fettered  since  their  first  institution  by  such 
immovable  boundaries,  are  essentially  the  same  as  in  the  first  cen- 
tury. The  fact  which  strikes  us  most  forcibly  in  examining  their 
statistics  is  the  effort  made  by  the  surveying  officers  of  Augustus 
to  equalize  the  divisions.  They  adopted  as  an  average  measure 
for  each  ward  a  circuit  of  12,000  to  12,500  feet  (12,270),  with  the 
exception  of  the  sixth,  to  which,  for  local  reasons,^  was  given  a 

1  Claudius  afterwards  (a.  d.  47)  doubled  the  extent  of  the  thirteenth,  taking 
in  the  plains  of  Testaccio,  with  their  quays,  wliarves,  arsenals,  granaries, 
warehouses,  sheds,  corn-exchanges,  etc. 

2  The  great  projecting  buttress  of  the  Servian  walls  in  the  gardens  of 
Sallust. 


THE   FOURTEEN   REGIONS    OF   AUGUSTUS 


89 


circuit  of  15,700  feet.     The  others  agree  so  well  that  there  are 
only  150  feet  of  difference  between  the  second  and  the  third,  07 


P.FIaminia 


P.Salaria 


P.Ostiense 


P.Tiburtina 
Viminale. 


R.V 

P.Esquilina 


P.Ardeatina 


P.Asinaria 


between  the  fourth  and  the  eighth,  10  between  the  tenth  and  tlie 
eleventh,  as  sjiown  in  the  following  table:  — 


Regions. 

Circuit. 

Parishes. 

Tenement 
Houses. 

Private 
Palaces. 

Feet. 

ir. 

1-2,  aoo 

7 

.3000 

127 

III. 

I2,;j.50 

12 

27.57 

60 

IV. 

i:i,000 

8 

27.57 

88 

VI. 

1.1,700 

17 

3-403 

140 

VIII. 

13,007 

•■54 

3480 

1.30 

X. 

uMy^ 

20 

20!)2 

89 

XI. 

11,500 

20 

2550 

89 

90  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

Not  less  remarkable  is  the  uniformity  in  the  number  of  tene- 
ment-houses (^insuke).  The  third  and  fourth  regions  have  each 
2757  insular ;  the  difference  between  the  sixth  and  the  eighth  is 
only  77 ;  between  the  third  and  the  tenth  65.  As  far  as  palaces 
(domus)  are  concerned,  it  is  obvious  that  the  surveying-officers 
could  not  even  approximately  assign  an  equal  number  to  each 
ward,  and  therefore  we  find  a  difference  of  86  between  the  maxi- 
mum and  the  minimum.  In  spite  of  that,  the  fourth,  tenth,  and 
eleventh  have  the  same  number  (88-89)  of  palaces;  the  second, 
sixth,  and  eighth  almost  the  same  (127-146).  These  statistics 
help  us  to  determine  which  parts  of  the  city  were  the  favorite  ones 
with  the  aristocracy.  The  sixth  comes  foremost,  with  1  palace 
to  -every  23  houses ;  last  comes  the  third,  with  1  to  45.  These 
results  agree  very  well  with  the  results  of  our  excavations.  How- 
ever, all  is  not  gold  that  glitters.  The  Curiosum  and  the  Notitia 
do  not  deserve  the  blind  and  implicit  faith  which  has  been  placed 
in  them  by  topographers,  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  their 
statistics  either  incori'ect  originally  or  made  so  by  copyists.  I  cite 
one  or  two  instances.  We  may  perhaps  be  mistaken  in  attributing 
to  the  word  damns  the  meaning  of  palace,  and  to  the  word  insula  the 
meaning  of  tenement-house,  and  in  this  case  their  true  significance 
remains  to  be  found  out.^  But  if  their  meaning  is  certain,^  how 
can  we  crowd  into  the  Palatine  hill  2692  tenement-houses  and  89 
private  palaces,  when  we  know  that  the  palaces  of  the  Ca3sars 
alone  occupied  nine  tenths  of  its  surface?  Again,  we  may  believe 
to  a  certain  extent  that  the  geodetic  experts  of  Augustus,  turning 
their  compass  over  and  over  again  on  the  map  of  the  city,  could 
have  found  a  circuit  line  of  nearly  equal  length  for  each  ward ; 
but  how  is  it  possible  that  they  could  have  placed  exactly  2757 
tenement-houses  within  the  third  and  the  fourth,  and  2487  within 
the  twelfth  and  the  fourteenth,  although  these  i-egions  are  so 
different  in  many  other  respects?  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to 
accept  the  statistics,  as  has  been  done  up  to  the  present  day,  some 
of  their  inaccuracies  being  patent.     They  assign,  for  instance,  to 

1  References  (for  insulce  and  domus). — Pietro  Visconti,  Atti  Accad.  Ar- 
cheol.  vol.  xiii.  p.  254.  —  Francesco  Bianchini,  Columhar.  Livke,  p.  49.  — 
Gaetano  Marini,  ArvaU,Y).  399.  —  Otto  Richter,  Insula  (in  Hermes,  1885,  p.  91). 
—  Fricdlander,  Sittenyeschichte  Roms,  vol.  i.  ]).  12.  —  Eyssenhardt,  Romlsch 
und  Romdnlsch,  p.  92. — Pohlmann,  THe  Ueberrolkerung  der  antiken  Gross- 
stddte.  Leipsic,  1884.  —  Attilio  de  Marclii,  Ricerche  intorno  (die  insidie. 
Milan,  1891. 

2  Cf.  the  decisive  passage  of  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  41:  Domorum  t't  insularum 
et  templorum,  qux  amissa  sunt,  numeruni  inire  hand  proniptuni  fiiit. 


THE   FOURTEEN   REGIONS    OF   AUGUSTUS 


91 


the  tenth  or  Pahitiiie  region  a  cii'cuit  of  3418  metres  (11,510  feet). 
I  have  measured  it  twice  over  in  designing  Sheets  xxix.  and  xxxv. 
of  my  "  Forma  Urbis,"  detaining  an  average  length  of  2080. 
There  is  an  exaggeration  of  1:338  metres. 

A  remarkable  study  has  just  been  published  on  this  question  by 
Huelsen  in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1894,  p.  312.  According  to  his  cal- 
culations the  Coliseum  could  accommodate  only  from  40,000  to 
45,000  seated  spectators,  the  Theatre  of  INIarcellus  from  9000  to 
10,000,  the  Circus  Maximus  about  150,000.  These  figures  are  very 
far  from  tlie  87,000  places  (Jac(i)  which  the  catalogues  attribute 
to  the  first,  from  the  17,580  given  to  the  second,  from  the  385,000 
given  to  the  third.  I  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close  with  the  statis- 
tics of  the  regions  "  extra  muros  :  "  — 


Regions. 

Circuit. 

Parishes. 

Tenement 
Houses. 

Private 
Palaces. 

Feet. 

I. 

]2,214..5 

10 

3250 

120 

V. 

I."),  000 

1.5 

3850 

ISO 

VII. 

1 4, .')()() 

1.5 

3805 

120 

IX. 

:22,.")00 

;i.-) 

2777 

140 

X  I! . 

1-2, 000 

17 

2487 

113 

XIII. 

18,000 

IT 

2487 

l.!() 

XIV. 

;w,i94 

78 

4405 

1.50 

Comparing  the  two  tables,  we  find  that  the  aristocratic  quarter 
par  excellence  was  the  thirteenth  (Aventine),  with  1  palace  in  19 
hou.ses,  followed  closely  by  the  ninth  (Circus  Flaminius),  with  1 
in  20.  Last  comes  the  third  (Lsis  et  Serapis),  with  1  in  46.  The 
patricians  evidently  preferred  the  quarters  more  distant  from  the 
centre. 

LiTEKATiiRK.  —  Heinricli  .Jordan,  Topngrnphie,  vol.  ii.  p.  72.  —  T-iuhvi^ 
Prt'ller,  Dit  Reffionen  d.  St.  Rom.  .Jciia,  1840.  —  AVilhelni  Ilenzeii,  Corpitx 
/user.  Lnt.,  vol.  vi.  p.  80,  ad  n.  454.  —  (}.  Hattista  de  Rossi,  Piante  di  R. 
anteriori  al  sec.  XVI.  p.  39.  —  .Toachini  Marquardt,  Staat.trerwaltunf/,  iii.  pp. 
204,  205.  — (Jiusejipe  Gatti,  Bull.  arch,  corn.,  vol.  xvi.  p.  224.  — Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciani,  Ricerche  stillc  XIV  ref/ioni :  ibid.  vol.  xviii.  p.  115. 

XXVI.  TiiK  PopuLATiox  OF  AxfiF.NT  RoME.  —  There  is  no 
instance  in  the  history  of  the  world  of  so  ra]iid  and  magnificent  a 
growth  as  that  of  Rome  from  its  first  foundation  on  the  Palatine 


92  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

by  a  mere  handful  of  shepherds.  Whether  by  wisdom  or  by 
power  or  by  valor,  they  were  destined  from  the  beginning  to 
become  the  rulers  of  the  world.  And  even  now  the  civilized 
nations  are  governed  by  their  laws,  travel  by  their  roads,  and 
speak  or  understand  their  language.  During  the  twenty-six  cen- 
turies of  its  existence  the  population  of  Rome  has  had  much  to 
suffer  —  changing  customs,  habits,  opinions,  forms  of  government, 
and  religion.  No  other  city  has  been  besieged,  taken,  robbed,  and 
burnt  so  often,  and  yet  the  vitality  of  the  root  could  never  be  im- 
paired. Even  in  the  worst  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  tem- 
porarily dethroned  by  Avignon,  Rome  and  its  name  never  lost 
tlieir  influence  and  prestige,  but  while  in  the  first  centuries  of  the 
Republic  the  reality  was  in  advance  of  reputation,  at  the  end  of 
the  Middle  Ages  reputation  was  ahead  of  true  facts. 

Roman  history  is  represented  with  astonishing  precision  by  the 
fluctuations  in  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  because  men  rush 
where  they  can  find  food,  work,  luxury,  health,  power,  fame,  se- 
ciu'ity,  and  fly  when  such  advantages  are  difficult  or  impossible  to 
obtain.  Political  power  alone,  without  the  comforts  of  life,  is 
not  sufficient  to  stimulate  immigration  into  a  city :  Rome  was  at 
its  lowest  under  the  most  powerful  of  medijeval  popes.  Innocent 
III. 

Three  attempts  have  been  made  lately  to  estimate  the  number 
of  the  inhabitants  of  ancient  Rome :  one  by  Pietro  Castigiione, 
"  Delia  popolazione  di  Roma  dall'  origine  sino  ai  nostri  tempi  " 
(Monografia  di  Roma,  vol.  ii.  p.  187) ;  the  second  by  myself,  in  a 
memoir  on  the  "  Vicende  edilizie  di  Roma  antica,"  published  in 
the  same  work,  vol.  i.  p.  1 ;  the  third  by  Prof.  Julius  Beloch,  "  Ex- 
trait  du  Bulletin  de  I'lnstitut  international  de  Statistique,"  Rome, 
Botta,  1S86. 

The  question  is  worth  investigation,  on  account  of  the  amazing 
estimates  made  by  older  writers.  Lipsius  mentions  4,000,000, 
Vossius  14,000,000 !  Gibbon  gives  the  city  1,200,000  souls  at  the 
time  of  Constantine,  and  although  his  calculations  rest  on  no  sci- 
entific basis,  yet  his  exquisite  historical  intuition  made  him  strike 
almost  the  right  figure.  Bunsen's  standard  measure  —  the  number 
of  those  to  whom  grain  was  gratuitously  distributed  under  Au- 
gustus—  is  the  right  one,  but  he  is  greatly  mistaken  in  reckoning 
the  number  of  slaves.  At  all  events  his  statement  — 1,;)00,000  as  a 
mini nmm, '2,000,000  as  a  maximum  —  has  been  accepted  by  Ger- 
man writers  :  by  Nietersheim  (1,500,000),  IMarquardt  (l,Go6,000), 
Friedlander  (1,000,000  for  the  first,  2,000,000  for  the  second  cen- 


THE   POPULATION   OF   ANCIENT   ROME  93 

tury),  and  others.  Again,  those  who  have  taken  as  a  basis  the 
area  of  the  city  inclosed  by  walls  (nine  million  square  metres), 
compared  with  the  density  of  population  in  modern  capitals, 
have  fallen  into  the  other  extreme.  Dureau  de  la  Malle  assigns 
to  fourteen  wards  of  the  imperial  city  a  population  of  562,000, 
Castiglione  assigns  584,000.  The  results  attained  by  Beloch  are 
expressed  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  his  memoir  as  follows : 
"  Taking  into  consideration  the  number  of  those  who  had  a  right 
to  the  free  distribution  of  grain  at  the  beginning  of  the  Empire, 
the  popnlation  of  Rome,  of  the  Campagna,  and  of  some  of 
the  surrounding  hills  must  have  amounted  to  from  950,000  to 
1,035,000  souls;  that  of  the  city  alone  from  760,000  to  920,000. 
Again,  calculating  the  habitable  space  within  the  walls  of  Au- 
relian,  we  have  found  out  for  the  city  alone  a  popidation  of  from 
800,000  to  850,000  souls.  The  approximation  of  these  figures 
reached  by  different  ways  shows  that  we  cannot  stray  very  far 
from  the  truth  if  we  adopt  for  Rome  and  the  Campagna  the  mim- 
ber  of  about  1,000,000,  for  Rome  inclosed  by  walls  that  of  800,000. 
However  modest  the  number  may  seem,  compared  with  former 
ideas,  we  must  remember  that  it  was  never  reached  by  a  modern 
capital  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century." 

From  the  end  of  the  third  century  downwards  the  population 
diminished  with  appalling  rapidity.  Castiglione  says  that  in  ;];55 
B.  c.  it  was  reduced  to  ;500,(H)(),  but  his  estinuite  is  evidently  too 
low.  Pillage  after  pillage,  barbarian  inroads,  famine,  insecurity, 
bad  government  or  no  government  at  all,  earthquakes,  and  inun- 
dations did  the  rest ;  and  we  are  told  that  in  the  year  1377,  on  the 
return  of  the  popes  from  Avignon,  there  were  only  17,000  survi- 
vors in  tlie  ruinous  waste.'  Whether  the  figure  be  exact  or  not, 
these  few  men  who  held  firm  and  faithful  to  their  native  soil. de- 
serve the  gratitude  of  mankind.  Without  them,  the  site  of  Rome 
would  now  be  pointed  out  to  the  inquiring  stranger  like  that  of 
Veil,  of  Fidente,  of  Ostia,  and  of  Tusculum.  There  are  three 
works  on  Roman  statistics  of  the  sixteentli  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies full  of  new  and  interesting  information. 

Mariano  Arniellini,  Un  cenmnento  (Jella  cilta  di  Rinnn  softo  il  jioiitifimU)  di 
Leone  X.  Rome,  1882.  —  Domenico  Giioli,  Dcxcri/ilio  urbis,  o  censimento  delia 
popolazione  di  Roma  arnnfi  il  nacco  borboniro.  Koim',  1804.  —  Fraiifesco  Cera- 
soli,  Censimento  della  2>oj)olazione  di  Roma  dalP  anno  1000  nl  1739.  Koine, 
1891. 

Here  are  a  few  facts.     In   Pope  Leo  X.'s  time  the  number  of 
1  Compare  Domenico  Gnoli,  Descriptio  urbis. 


94 


GENERAL    INFORMATION 


the  cortesane  was  equal  to  about  one  third  of  the  total  of  single 
women  or  widows  within  the  walls  of  the  city.  Their  luimber 
had  diminished  to  604  in  1600,  to  rise  up  again  steadily  until 
the  maximum  of  1295  is  reached  in  1639.  A  century  later,  iir 
1739,  they  were  reduced  to  100  (?). 

In  1527,  the  population  being  55,035,  some  of  the  cardinals  had 
the  following  retinue  of  servants  and  officers  (corte  cardinalizia)  : 
Farnese,  306  jiersons  ;  Cesarini,  275  ;  Orsini,  200  ;  del  Monte,  200 ; 
and  so  on  in  decreasing  numbers,  until  we  reach  the  figure  of  60 
for  Cardinal  Numalio,  and  45  for  de  Vio. 

In  1639,  in  a  population  of  114,256  souls,  there  were  24  bishops, 
1786  priests,  3539  monks,  2196  nuns,  '2lSi)  fainif/liari  oi  cardinals, 
—  a  clerical  nucleus  over  10,000  strong.  There  were  975  regis- 
tered beggars,  13  Moorish  slaves.  Of  88,144  persons  capable  of 
satisfying  the  Pascal  precept  77,471  took  the  lu^ly  communion. 
There  were  only  238  inmates  of  public  prisons. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  population  numbered 
153,004  souls.  The  French  invasions  and  the  Napoleonic  wars 
brought  a  decline,  which  culminated  in  1812  with  117,882  in- 
habitants. But  the  ascending  movement  began  again  witli  tlie 
Peace  of  Vienna,  and  has  continued  uninterruptedly  to  the  present 
day.  When  Rome  became  the  capital  of  Italy  in  1780,  tliere 
were  226,022  inhabitants;  the  Jiumber  has  doubled  since,  as  sliown 
by  this  table  :  — 


Year. 

Popula- 
tion. 

Deaths.' 

Death-rate. 

Births. 

Excess 
of  Births. 

1885 
1880 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1895 

345,030 
304,511 
382,973 
401,044 
415,498 
423,217 
436,185 
450,000 

8,599 
9,297 
10,041 
10.293 
10,394 
9,731 
10,099 

25  lier  1000 

20 

28 

20 

25 

23 

23        ' ' 

9,872 
10,484 
11,5.37 
12,330 
12,870 
11,9.50 
12,294 

1,273 
1,187 
896 
2,043 
2,470 
2  225 
2,195 

XXVII.  The  Map  of  Rome  engraa^ed  ox  Marble  under 
Severus  and  Caracalla.  —  Under  the  pontificate  of  Pius  IV. 
(1559-65),  while  the  architect  Giovanni  Antonio  Dosio  da  San 
Geminiano  was  excavating  at  the  foot  of  the  back  wall  of  the 

'  Including  the  Campagna  and  the  floating  population. 


MAP    OF  ROME   ENGRAVED    ON  MARBLE  95 

church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  he  found  ninety-two  pieces  of 
marble  slabs,  upon  which  was  engraved  the  map  of  the  city,  re- 
stored and  rebuilt  by  Severus  and  Caracalla  after  the  fire  of  Corn- 
modus.  A  few  of  the  fragments  were  still  fixed  against  the 
wall  (Fea,  Miscell.,  lii.  n.  a),  but  the  greater  part  had  fallen  on 
the  pavement  of  the  Forum  Pacis,  each  slab  being  broken  into 
many  pieces.  Had  the  discoverer  taken  care  to  collect  them  care- 
fully, and  to  join  the  fragments  of  each  slab  there  and  then,  the 
value  of  the  discovery  would  have  been  inestimable;  but  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  tliey  were  tiirown  negligently  into  baskets 
and  removed  to  the  palace  of  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese.  Here 
the  pieces  were  sorted  even  more  negligently,  the  larger  and  more 
valuable  were  exhibited  in  the  museum,  the  smaller  bits  were 
thrown  away  in  the  cellars  of  the  palace.  Some  years  later  a 
mason  made  use  of  them  in  restoring  the  wall  of  the  garden  on 
the  river-side.  Many  of  them  were  rediscovered  in  1888  when 
that  garden  wall  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  the  Tiber 
embankment.  (See  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1888,  pp.  .301,  437,  569.) 
Pope  Benedict  XIV.,  to  whose  liberality  the  Capitoline  museum 
owes  so  many  treasures,  asked  King  Charles  III.  of  Naples,  the 
heir  to  the  Farnese  estate,  to  ])resent  the  "  Forma  Urbis  "  to  the 
city.  The  reipu'st  was  complied  with,  and  the  fragments  were 
arranged  in  a  somewhat  disorderly  manner  on  each  side  of  the 
staircase  of  the  museum.  The  star  which  marks  some  of  the 
pieces  tells  another  tale  in  the  odyssey  of  the  precious  relics : 
those  pieces,  having  been  lost  in  the  journey  from  the  Farnese 
palace  to  the  Capitol,  were  reproduced  from  original  drawings  in 
Cod.  vatic.  3839. 

In  the  year  1867  Augusto  Castellani  and  Effisio  Tocco  tried 
fresh  excavations  in  the  garden  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  and 
they  were  rewarded  by  the  find  of  the  celebrated  jiiece  containing 
the  plan  of  the  Porticus  Livia;  (Fig-  '58).  In  18S'2  another  piece, 
containing  the  plan  of  the  Vicus  Vesta*,  was  discovered  under  my 
sujiervision  ;  a  third  of  no  im})ortance  in  1884. 

Lastly,  in  1890  the  state  undertook  to  make  a  final  and  exhaus- 
tive search  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  of  the  Templum  Sacraj  Ur- 
bis, which  led  to  no  result,  for  reasons  -which  it  would  be  out  of 
place  to  discuss.  The  origin  of  the  plan  may  be  briefly  described 
as  follows :  — 

The  last  census  of  Rome,  taken  in  strict  accordance  witli  the 
old  rules,  was  beguii  by  Vespasian  in  a.  d.  73,  and  finished  two 
years  later.     The   Flavian  dynastj%  to  use  the  expression  of  Sue- 


9C  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

tonius,  had  found  the  capital  of  the  Empire  "  deformis  veteribus 
incentliis  [the  five  of  Nero]  atque  ruiniti  [the  disasters  caused  by 
the  factiou  of  Vitellius]."'  A'espasian  reorganized  the  city  from 
the  material  as  well  as  from  an  administrative  point  of  view  :  the 
lands  usurped  by  Nero  for  his  Golden  House  were  given  back 
to  the  people  ;  the  burnt  quarters  rebuilt,  on  a  new  piano  rcgolatore  ; 
the  limits  of  the  metropolitan  district  enlarged ;  public  projjerty  on 
the  line  of  the  Tiber,  of  the  aqueducts,  of  the  pomerium  was  re- 
deemed from  the  encroachments  of  private  individuals ;  a  new  map 
of  the  city  was  drawn,  and  the  cadastre  of  public  and  private 
property  revised.  These  documents  were  deposited  in  a  fireproof 
building,  an  oblong  hall  42  metres  long,  25  metres  wide,  constructed 
expressly  on  the  west  side  of  the  Forum  Pacis,  between  it  and  the 
Sacra  Via.  On  the  epistyle,  above  the  main  entrance,  the  follow- 
ing words  were  engraved  :  "  [This  building  has  been  raised  by] 
Vespasian  in  his  eighth  consulshiji  [a.  d.  78]."  The  map  of  the 
city,  drawn  in  accordance  with  the  last  official  survey  and  the  re- 
sults of  the  census,  was  exhibited  on  the  side  of  the  hall  facing  the 
Forum  of  Peace.  We  do  not  know  whether  it  was  simply  drawn 
in  colors  on  plaster,  like  the  celebrated  maps  of  Agrippa  in  the 
Portico  of  Vipsania  PoUa,  or  engraved  on  marble. 

The  city  was  again  half  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year  191,  under 
Commodus,  the  centre  of  the  conflagration  being  precisely  the 
neighborhood  of  these  archives.  The  house  of  the  Vestals,  the 
jewelers'  shops  on  the  Sacra  Via,  the  imperial  warehouses  for 
Eastern  spices  (horrea  piperataria),  and  the  Forum  and  Temple 
of  Peace  were  leveled  to  the  ground.  The  archives,  surrounded 
by  this  mighty  blaze  on  every  side,  must  have  been  turned  into  an 
oven  in  spite  of  their  fireproof  inclosure,  their  bronze  roof  melted, 
their  contents  injured  by  heat  or  by  water. 

Septimius  Severus  and  his  son  Caracalla  undertook,  with  the 
reconstruction  of  the  city,  the  reestablishment  of  the  archives  of 
the  cadastre,  and,  in  memory  of  their  work  (which  was  begun  in 
A.  D.  193  and  completed  in  211),  they  caused  a  new  and  revised 
edition  of  the  plan  of  the  city  to  be  engraved  in  marble  and 
exhibited  in  the  same  place,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  front  of  the 
building  facing  the  Forum  of  Peace.  The  building  itself,  mag- 
nificently restored  and  decorated  in  opus  sectile  (a  kind  of  Floren- 
tine mosaic),  was  dedicated  under  the  name  of  Templum  Sacrte 
Urbis.  It  exists  still  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  thanks  to 
Pope  Felix  IV.,  who,  in  526,  turned  it  into  a  church,  under  the 
invocation  of  SS.  Cosma  e   Damiano.      The  wall,  on  the  marble 


JfAP    OF  ROME   ENGRAVED    ON  MARBLE 


97 


facing  of  which  the  plan  of  Rome  was  engraved,  measures  twenty- 
two  metres  in  length,  fifteen  metres  in  height,  and  is  remarkably 


Fig.  38.  —  The  Fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan  discovered  by  Castellani  and  Tocco  in  18C7. 


well  preserved.     There  is  a  good  drawing  of  it  in  Jordan's  "  For- 
ma Urbis  Romae,"  plate  xxxi.  fig.  1. 


98  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

The  orientation  or  meridian  line  of  the  phiii  seems  to  have  been 
directed  from  the  southwest  to  the  northeast.  Tlie  scale,  save  a 
few  excejptions,  seems  to  be  1 :  250. 

References.  —  Bernardo  Gamucci,  Antickila  di  Roma,  ed.  1580,  p.  36. — 
Pietro  Bellori,  Fi-cirjm.  vestif/ii  U.  R.  Home,  1073  (2d  edition,  1773).  —  Effisio 
Tocco,  Annul.  Inst.,  1807,  p.  409.  —  Trendelenburg,  Annul.  Inst.,  1872,]).  75. — 
Ik'inrich  .Jordan,  Forma  Urhis  Romce  Regionum  XIV.  Berlin,  Weidniann, 
1874.  —  Anton  Elter,  Be  Forma  U.  R.  dvque  orbis  antiqui  facie.  Bonn,  J8!)l. 
—  Christian  Hiielsen,  Mittheil.  des  Archaeol.  Instituts,  1889,  p.  79;  and  Bull. 
arch,  com.,  1893,  p.  130.  —  Otto  Richter,  Gottingcn  gelehrten  Anzcirien,  1892,  p. 
130;  and  Toj>or/raphie  der  Stadt  Rom,  1889,  j).  3.— Gio.  Battista  I'ininesi, 
Anfichitd  romane,  vol.  i.  tav.  2-6. 

XXVIII.  The  Burial  of  Rome.  —  The  question  most  often 
asked  by  persons  not  well  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  down- 
fall of  Imperial  Rome  is,  "  How  came  the  city  to  be  buried  under 
a  bed  of  earth  to  a  dejith  which  ranges  from  five  to  sixty-five 
feet?"  Tlie  question  is  more  easily  put  than  answered.  The 
accumulation  of  modern  soil  depends  upon  so  many  causes,  great 
and  small,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  bring  them  all  together  and 
set  them  before  the  student  in  the  proper  light. 

To  begin  with,  I  will  relate  a  personal  experience  which  took 
place  in  1883-84.  during  the  excavations  made  by  my  late  friend 
Luigi  Boccanera,  in  the  villa  of  Q.  Voconius  Pollio  at  Marino,  the 
ancient  Castrimcenium.  AVe  had  been  wishing  for  years  to  try  an 
excavation  in  virgin  soil,  where  no  one  should  have  disturbed  the 
strata  of  the  ruins  corresponding  to  the  pages  of  history.  Here 
all  chances  were  in  our  favor,  because  the  Villa  Voconiana,  so  rich 
in  works  of  art,  had  not  been  destroyed  by  fire,  or  by  earthquake, 
or  by  the  violence  of  man,  but  had  been  left  to  decay  by  itself, 
piece  by  piece  and  atom  by  atom.  The  palace,  moreover,  contained 
but  one  floor,  the  ground  floor,  no  suspicion  of  staircases  leading 
to  upper  stories  having  been  found  anywhere.  Now,  as  the  posi- 
tion of  the  building  was  such  that  the  strata  of  its  ruins  could 
not  have  been  altered  by  the  action  ot  water  or  atmospheric  forces, 
and  the  volume  of  the  same  ruins  could  not  have  been  either  aug- 
mented or  diminished,  it  was  easy  to  calculate,  with  almost  mathe- 
matical precision,  Avhat  is  the  material  prodiict  of  the  crumbling 
of  a  Roman  house. 

The  results  of  the  careful  calculation  are  these.  A  noble  Roman 
house,  one  story  high,  produces  a  stratum  of  loose  material  and 
rubbish  one  metre,  eighty-five  centimetres  high  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
a  building  about  ten  metres  high,  crumbling  down  under  the  cir- 


THE    BURIAL    OF   ROME  99 

cunistances  wliicli  caused  the  ruin  of  the  villa  of  Voconius  PoUio, 
produces  1.85  cuV)ic  metres  for  each  sqiuire  metre  of  surface. 

Now  if  a  building  of  very  modest  proportions  lias  created  such 
a  volume  of  ruins,  it  is  easy  to  inuigine  what  must  have  been  the 
results  of  the  destruction  of  the  private  and  public  monuments  of 
ancient  Rome. 

At  the  beginning-  of  the  fourth  century  after  Clirist,  Rome,  as 
we  have  just  seen,  contained  ■10,002  tenement-houses,  1790  palaces, 
not  to  speak  of  a  thousand  public  buildings  like  thermaj,  temples, 
basilicas,  theatres,  amphitheatres,  circuses,  porticoes,  etc.  The 
height  of  these  editices  was  always  considerable,  sometimes  exces- 
sive. Strabo  mentions  a  law  made  by  Augustus  against  the  raising 
of  private  houses  above  seventy  feet.  Trajan  tried  to  reduce  the 
maximum  to  sixty  feet.  Tertullian  describes  the  liouse  of  a  Feli- 
cles  as  reaching  the  sky.  Houses  built  in  the  phiin  of  the  Cii'cus 
Flaminius  against  the  Capitoline  hill  reached  the  platform  of  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter,  and  enabled  tlie  followers  of  Vespasian  to 
take  the  place  by  storm  from  tlie  Vitellians.  The  palace  of  Sep- 
timius  Severus  at  the  Septizonium  towered  fully  seventy  meti'es 
above  the  arena  of  the  Circus  Maximus ;  the  pediment  of  the 
Temple  of  the  Sun  rose  eighty  metres  above  the  Campus  Martius. 
Considering  that  hardly  the  ten  thousandtli  ])ortion  of  this  mass 
of  buildings  has  escaped  destruction,  all  the  rest  liaving  crumbled 
into  dust  and  rubbish,  we  cannot  wonder  that  ancient  Rome  should 
now  lie  buried  so  deep.  If  the  Foruju  of  Trajan,  excavated  by  Pius 
VII.  in  the  heart  of  the  nuxlern  city,  was  not  cleaned  or  swept 
once  a  week,  as  is  the  case  now,  at  the  end  of  each  year  it  would 
be  covered  by  an  inch  of  dust,  by  one  hundred  inches  at  the  end  of 
a  century ;  and  I  speak  of  matter  accumulated  there  simply  by  the 
action  of  rain  and  wind.  But  if  the  Forum  of  Trajan  should  be 
selected  by  the  living  generation  as  a  receptacle  for  the  daily  refuse 
of  the  city,  its  disappearance  would  take  place  in  a  few  years :  and 
this  has  been  the  case  with  the  Forum  Romanum,  the  Coliseum, 
the  Forum  Augustum,  the  Palatine,  the  Vicus  Patricius,  and  so  on. 
At  all  events,  the  increase  of  the  Roman  soil  begins  witli  the  age 
of  the  Tarquins,  and  with  the  drainage  and  filling  up  of  the  Vela- 
bra.  An  inscription  discovered  at  the  first  milestone  of  the  Appian 
AVay  (Corpus,  vol.  vi.  n.  1270)  describes  how  the  steep  incline 
leading  from  the  river  Almo  to  the  Temple  of  INIars  had  been  made 
easy  by  the  removal  of  large  masses  of  earth.  The  ruins  of  the 
buildings  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  described  by  Livy  (xxiv.  47) 
were  leveled  on  the  spot,  and  the  pavement  of  the  Forum  Boarium 


100  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

and  of  the  surrounding  streets  was  at  once  raised  several  feet. 
Horace  (Sat.  i.  8;  v.  15)  describes  how  Augustus  and  Maecenas 
caused  the  burial-grounds  of  the  Esquiiine  to  be  covered  with 
oreat  masses  of  earth,  and  a  public  park  laid  out  on  their  site. 
While  building  in  1877  the  sewer  of  the  Coliseum  along  the  Via 
di  S.  Gregorio,  we  discovered  the  city  of  the  time  of  Nero  buried 
under  the  ruins  of  the  fire  of  a.  d,  65.  Here  also  the  level  of  the 
streets  was  raised  at  once  several  feet.  Frontinus  (i.  18)  says  that 
the  seven  hills  had  gained  in  altitude :  "  colles  excreverunt  rudere." 

The  700,000  or  800,000  cubic  metres  of  earth  and  rock  removed 
by  Trajan  to  make  room  for  his  forum  were  laid  over  the  public 
cemetery  between  the  Via  Pinciana  and  the  Via  Salaria  (Salaria 
Vetus  and  Nova).  The  batlis  of  Trajan  and  Titus  are  founded  on 
the  remains  of  the  Golden  House  of  Nero ;  the  baths  of  Caracalla 
on  the  remains  of  many  edifices,  of  w^iich  the  engraving  on  the 
next  page  (Fig.  39)  represents  a  small  section. 

Diocletian  began  the  construction  of  his  own  thermfe  by  demol- 
ishing two  temples  and  many  other  public  or  private  buildings  to 
the  extent  of  136,000  square  metres.  The  products  of  the  demoli- 
tion were  heaped  up  in  a  hillock  20  metres  high  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  present  railway  station.  The  threshold  of  the  arch 
built  by  Augustus  over  the  Via  Tiburtina  for  the  transit  of  the 
Marcia,  Tepula,  and  Julia  lies  three  metres  below  the  threshold  of 
the  gate  (Porta  S.  Lorenzo)  built  by  Arcadius  and  Honorius  in 
402  (Fig.  31).  These  figures  give  us  a  yearly  average  of  1\  milli- 
metres of  rise  for  the  surrounding  district,  during  the  406  years 
which  elapsed  between  Augustus  and  Honorius.  The  inscriptions 
engraved  on  the  same  gate  of  S.  Lorenzo  describe,  among  the 
works  undertaken  by  Honorius  toward  the  strengthening  of  the 
fortifications  of  Rome,  the  removal  of  the  ruljbish  accumulated 
along  the  line  of  the  walls  ("  egestis  immensis  ruderibus;"  see 
p.  73). 

I  have  sometimes  discovered  four  different  buildings  lying  one 
under  the  other.  The  mediaeval  church  of  S.  Clement  was  built 
in  1099  by  Paschal  IL  above  the  remains  of  another  basilica  built 
seven  and  a  half  centuries  earlier.  This  latter  rests  upon  the 
walls  of  a  noble  patrician  house  of  the  second  century  after  Christ, 
under  w'hich  the  remains  of  an  uirknown  Republican  building  are 
to  be  seen. 

When  the  new  Via  Nazionale  was  cut  in  1877  across  the  Aldo- 
brandini  and  Rospigliosi  gardens,  on  the  Quirinal  hill,  we  met, 
first,  with  the  remains  of  the  Baths  of  Constantine ;  then  with  the 


THE    BURIAL    OF   ROME 


101 


remains  of  the  house  of  CLaudius  Claudianus ;  thirdly,  with  the 
house  of  Avidius  (Quietus ;  and  histly,  with  some  coustructions  of 
early  reticulated  work. 


Fig.  39.  —  The  Remains  of  a  Private  House  discovered  under  the  Baths  of  Caracalla  by 
G.  B.  Guidi,  ISOT. 


These  proofs,  which  T  have  quoted  at  random  from  monuments 
and  writers,  show  that  before  the  fall  of  the  Empire  the  ground 


102  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

rose  in  the  same  way  on  the  hills  and  on  the  plains.  However, 
after  the  barbarian  invasions,  twelve  out  of  the  fourteen  quarters 
(7-eyiones)  of  the  city  having  been  abandoned  and  turned  into 
farms  and  orchards,  the  rise  of  the  hills  diminished,  and  that  of 
the  valleys  and  plains  increased,  at  a  prodigious  rate  ;  a  fact  which 
can  be  explained,  to  some  extent,  by  the  natural  fall  of  materials 
from  the  heiglits,  and  by  the  action  of  atmospheric  forces.  The 
greatest  difference  between  ancient  and  modern  levels  which  I 
have  yet  ascertained  in  Rome  is  72  feet.  It  was  found  in  ex- 
cavating the  inner  courtyard  of  the  house  of  the  Vestals  at  the 
foot  of  the  Palatine  hill.  The  foundations  of  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  new  Treasury  buildings  were  sunk  in  1874  to  a  dei:)th 
of  41  feet,  before  the  stratum  of  debris  was  passed  through.  The 
foundations  of  the  house  which  forms  the  corner  of  the  Via 
Cavour  and  the  Piazza  dell'  Esquilino  were  sunk  likewise  to  a 
depth  of  53  feet.  At  that  level  the  remains  of  some  baths,  built 
by  Njeratius  Cerialis,  were  discovered,  with  statues,  busts,  bronzes, 
inscriptions,  etc. 

The  rise  of  the  hills  after  the  fall  of  the  Empire  was  absolutely 
artificial.  I  mean  to  say  that  if  there  was  a  rise  in  the  level  of 
the  soil,  it  was  the  work  of  man,  and  as  a  consequence  of  the 
building  of  palaces,  churches,  and  villas.  I  shall  here  quote  a 
curious  illustration  of  the  theory  I  am  trying  to  explain.  The 
soil  which  covers  (or  rather  covered)  the  northern  half  of  the  pal- 
ace of  the  CcBsars,  and  more  especially  the  palaces  of  Germanicus, 
Tiberius,  Caligula,  and  Domitian,  has  not  been  created  wholly  by 
the  crumbling  or  destruction  of  those  palaces,  but  is  mostly  soil 
removed  from  the  low  lands  of  the  Campus  Martius  to  the  top  of 
the  I'alatine  hill  by  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese,  when  digging 
the  foundations  for  his  palace  and  for  the  church  of  the  Gesix. 
After  remaining  there  for  nearly  three  centuries,  the  great  mass 
of  material  has  again  been  removed,  and  carted  away  into  the 
valley  between  the  Aventine  hill  and  the  cliurch  of  S.  Balbina,  in 
order  that  the  remains  of  the  Impe-ial  buildings  should  be  laid 
bare.  The  district  stretching  between  the  Porta  Pia  and  the 
Porta  Salaria  has  been  lately  raised  to  a  considerable  height  with 
the  soil  extracted  from  the  foundations  of  the  Treasury  buildings 
and  of  the  royal  mews.  Without  quoting  any  more  instances,  I 
wish  only  to  observe  that,  if  these  cases  were  not  known,  how 
could  we  explain  the  unexpected  rise  of  the  places  above  named, 
on  the  Quirinal  and  on  the  Aventine? 

AVhen  we  consider  that  the  archa-ological  stratum,  the  forma- 


THE   BURIAL    OF   ROME  103 

tion  of  wliicli  I  have  tried  to  describe,  is  at  least  nine  square  miles 
in  extent,  we  wonder  liow  it  has  been  possible  to  excavate,  and 
search,  and  actually  sift  it,  since  the  Renaissance  of  classical 
studies.     Yet  this  has  actually  been  done. 

During  my  long  experience  of  Roman  excavations,  and  especially 
since  the  building  of  the  new  city  began  in  1871,  about  four  square 
miles  have  been  turned  up.  Leaving  out  of  consideration  works 
of  art  and  objects  of  archaeological  interest,  found  scattered  here 
and  there  in  small  secluded  spots  —  mere  crumbs  fallen  from  the 
banqueting  -  tables  of  former  excavators  —  I  have  found  thi-ee 
places  only  of  any  considerable  extent,  which  had  absolutely  es- 
caped investigation. 

The  fii"st  is  the  district  now  occupied  by  the  Central  Railway 
Station,  on  the  border  line  between  the  Quirinal  and  Viminal 
hills,  excavated  during  1871  and  1872.  It  was  occupied  in  classic 
times  by  a  cluster  of  private  houses  built  in  the  so-called  Poinpeian 
style.  It  seems  that,  being  threatened  by  a  conflagration,  their 
inhabitants  had  collected  hurriedly  all  their  valuables  and  most 
precious  works  of  art,  and  heaped  them  up  in  confusion  in  a  hall 
opening  on  a  side  street,  which  they  considered  as  a  comparatively 
safe  place.  The  roof  of  the  hall,  however,  caught  fire,  and  in  its 
fall  carried  down  the  walls  in  such  a  way  as  to  shelter  the  heap 
of  bronzes  and  marbles  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  pavement. 
We  discovered  the  place  in  February,  1871,  and  were  able  to  re- 
move to  the  Capitoline  Museum  the  artistic  bronze  furniture  of 
two  or  three  Roman  houses,  the  marketable  value  of  which  was 
calculated  at  about  £6000. 

The  secotul  virgin  spot  was  discovered  on  Christmas  Eve,  1874, 
near  the  southwest  corner  of  tlie  Piazza  Vittorio  Emmanuele,  on 
the  site  of  the  llorti  Lamiani  (gardens  of  ^Elius  Lamia),  which 
had  been  incorporated  by  Caligula  into  the  Imperial  domain. 
During  the  previous  days  we  had  been  excavating  a  portico,  200 
feet  long,  with  a  single  line  of  fluted  columns  of  giallo  antico 
(yellow  Numidian  marble)  resting  on  pedestals  of  gilded  marble. 
The  pavement  of  the  portico  was  inlaid  with  Oriental  alabaster, 
and  the  walls  were  covered  with  slabs  of  a  certain  kind  of  slate, 
inlaid  with  festoons  and  groups  of  birds  and  other  delicate  de- 
signs in  gold  leaf.  At  the  foot  of  the  wall,  but  concealed  from 
view,  ran  a  water-pipe,  with  tiny  jets,  two  feet  distant  one  from  the 
other,  which  were  evidently  used  to  keep  the  place  cool  in  summer. 
At  the  northern  extremity  of  the  portico  the  floor  sank  into  a 
kind  of  chasm,  at  the  bottom  of  which  we  discovered,  during  that 


104  GENERAL    INFORMATION 

memorable  eve,  a  bust  of  Commocliis,  under  the  attributes  of 
Hercules,  the  most  elaborate  piece  of  work  which  has  been  found 
in  Rome  in  our  time ;  another  bust  of  the  same  Emperor,  of 
smaller  size ;  a  statue  of  the  muse  Polyhymnia ;  a  statue  of  the 
muse  Erato ;  a  statue  of  the  Venus  (Lamiana) ;  two  statues  of 
Tritons ;  a  bust  of  Diana ;  and  several  other  works  of  art,  such 
as  legs,  arras,  and  heads  formerly  set  into  bronze  draperies.  (See 
Book  IV.  §  xxiv.) 

The  third  and  last  spot  which  we  have  been  the  first  to  investi- 
gate since  the  early  Renaissance  is  the  southern  half  of  the  house 
of  the  Vestals.  However,  as  I  have  given  a  minute  account  of 
this  charming  discovery  in  chapter  vi.  of  my  "  Ancient  Rome,"  it 
is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  it  here. 

I  must  mention  two  particulars  which  explain  to  some  extent 
our  success  in  bringing  to  light,  almost  daily,  new  monuments 
and  works  of  art  and  curiosity.  The  first  is,  that  the  pioneers 
of  archaeological  research,  that  is  to  say,  the  excavators  who  pre- 
ceded us,  have  stopped  in  many  cases  at  the  wrong  level.  Find- 
ing mosaic  and  marble  pavements,  or  pavements  of  streets  and 
squares,  they  thought  they  had  reached  the  end  of  their  under- 
taking, and  turned  their  energy  in  other  directions.  From  what  I 
have  said  about  the  superposition  of  Roman  buildings,  it  is  easy 
to  see  how  wrong  they  were.  Here  also  I  must  be  allowed  to  quote 
a  personal  experience.  Tn  1879,  when  the  new  boulevard  connect- 
ing the  Piazza  Vittorio  Emmanuele  with  the  Porta  Maggiore  was 
cut  (Viale  Principe  Eugenio),  we  discovered  a  portion  of  the 
palace  of  Licinius  Gallienus,  already  excavated  by  Francesco 
Belardi  and  Giovanni  Battista  Piranesi  more  than  a  century  be- 
fore. These  two  men,  having  gone  as  far  down  as  the  level  of 
the  drains  running  under  the  pavements,  considered  their  task 
finished,  and  all  hope  of  further  discoveries  vanished ;  and  yet 
under  those  pavements  and  those  drains  lay  buried  at  a  great 
depth  nine  columbaria,  particularly  rich  in  cinerary  urns,  inscrip- 
tions, and  objects  of  value.  The  columbaria  are  designed  and 
their  contents  illustrated  in  the  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1880,  p.  51,  pis. 

"I  '-'• 

The  second  remark  refers  to  the  foundation  walls  built  with 
fragments  of  statuary,  to  which  very  little  attention  was  paid  by 
early  excavators.  The  value  of  this  mine  may  be  estimated  from 
the  following  facts.  In  1874  a  bath  was  discovered  near  the 
church  of  SS.  Pietro  e  Marcellino,  from  the  foundations  of  which 
we  extracted  95  statues,  busts,  torsos,  basins  of  fountains,  pieces 


THE    BURIAL    OF   ROME  105 

of  columns,  and  l)as-reliefs.  In  December,  1873,  the  group  of  Her- 
cules capturing  the  mares  of  Diomedes,  now  in  the  Palazzo  dei 
Conservatori,  was  found  broken  in  72  pieces  in  a  wall  near  S. 
JMatteo  in  Merulana.  Three  thousand  fragments  of  sculptured 
mai'bles,  and  130  inscriptions  or  pieces  of  inscriptions  were  discov- 
ered likewise  in  1873  in  the  substructures  of  the  gardens  of  Prse- 
textatus  on  the  Esquiline.  Consult  "  Monografia  archeologica," 
Rome,  1878,  vol.  i.  p.  40. 


BOOK    II 

THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE    PALATINE 

I.  Hints  to  Visitors.  —  The  Palatine  hill  is  the  j^roperty  of 
the  Italian  nation,  with  the  exception  of  the  southeast  corner, 
which  belongs  to  the  Barberini.  The  first  portion  rescued  from 
private  hands  was  the  Vigna  Nusiner,  which  the  crown  of  Russia 
gave  up  to  Pius  IX.  in  1851  in  exchange  for  some  works  of  art. 
The  same  pope  purchased  the  Vigna  Butirroni  in  1852,  the  Vigna 
del  Collegio  Inglese,  formerly  Ronconi,  in  1862,  and  the  Vigna  de' 
Benfratelli  in  1866.  In  1860  Napoleon  III.  bought  the  Farnese 
gardens  from  the  house  of  Naples,  and  began  regular  excavations 
under  the  management  of  the  late  Comm.  Pietro  Rosa.  After 
the  fall  of  Napoleon  in  1870,  the  national  government  redeemed 
this  portion  of  the  hill,  and  took  possession  of  the  convents  of 
S.  Bonaventura  and  the  Visitation  (Villa  IMills)  and  of  their  gar- 
dens. The  latter  convent  is  still  inhabited  by  the  nuns,  while 
that  of  S.  Bonaventura  is  partially  occupied  by  the  Guardie  degli 
Scavi. 

The  Palatine  is  under  the  management  of  the  ]\Iinister  of 
Public  Instruction,  represented  by  a  local  board,  or  Ufficio  degii 
Scavi.  The  excavations  may  be  visited  every  day :  entrance  fee, 
one  lira,  which  is  not  charged  on  Sundays.  Artists,  professors,  and 
students  of  archaeology  are  exempted  from  the  fee,  on  application 
to  the  Ufficio  degli  Scavi.  The  restrictions  on  photographing 
are  most  complicated,  the  heads  of  tlie  various  boards  having  dif- 
ferent views  on  the  subject. 

The  Palatine  cannot  possibly  be  studied  in  one  day :  two  days 
at  least  are  required  to  become  acquainted,  in  a  certain  degree, 
with  the  labyrinth  of  ruins.  A  modest  literary  preparation  is 
needed,  to  lessen  the  difficulties  of  the  task,  and  also  a  know- 
ledge of  the  main  lines  of  the  map  of  the  hill.  Many  students 
on  their  first  attempt  come  away  more  discouraged  by  the  intri- 
cacies of  the  topography  of  the  Palatine  than  pleased  with  the 


HINTS    TO    VISITORS  107 

beauty  of  its  ruins.  They  have  been  hurried  through  so  nuiiiy 
palaces,  —  those  of  Augustus,  Tiberius,  Caliguhi,  Doiuitian,  Seve- 
rus,  —  they  have  crossed  so  )nany  luills,  cryptoporticoes,  stadiums, 
galleries,  basilicas,  passages,  cellars,  etc.,  that  they  feel  sometimes 
inclined  to  give  the  thing  up  as  liopeless.  Yet  the  fundamental 
lines  of  the  residence  of  the  Cajsars  are  simple,  and  can  be  under- 
stood and  remembered  even  by  non-professional  men.  The  main 
points  are  these  :  — 

I.  The  Palatine  hill  originally  was  almost  square  in  shape,  each 
side  measuring  about  4.30  metres  in  length.  The  addition  of  the 
palace  of  Septiraius  Severus  at  the  southern  corner,  raised  on  an 
artiticial  platform,  the  foundations  of  which  are  level  with  the 
bottom  of  the  valley,  altered  the  shape  from  square  to  trapezoid. 
The  fall  of  the  Imperial  buildings  and  the  work  of  human  hands 
have  changed  the  abrupt  cliffs  into  slopes,  and  given  the  whole 
place  a  new  aspect.  Vegetation  and  cultivation  have  done  the 
rest,  by  uprooting  and  crushing  and  splitting  enormous  masses  of 
masonry,  which,  mixed  with  earth  brought  from  afar,  and  leveled 
into  flower  or  vegetable  beds,  have  covered  the  rocky  foundation 
of  the  hill  with  a  layer  of  rubl)ish  from  0  to  67  feet  thick.  They 
have  hidden  from  view  some  of  its  historical  features  ;  for  instance, 
the  valley  between  the  Velia  (by  the  Arch  of  Titus)  and  the  Circus 
IMaximus,  by  which  the  Palatine  was  divided  into  two  summits  — 
the  Cermalus  on  the  noith,  the  Palatium  on  the  south.  In  its 
present  form  the  hill  measures  2080  metres  in  circumference,  and 
is  51.20  metres  above  the  sea '  and  32  above  the  level  of  modern 
Rome. 

II.  The  platform  of  the  hill  was  entirely  occupied  by  the  palaces 
of  the  Cfesars,  with  the  exception  of  a  space  175  metres  long  and 
106  wide,  at  the  west  corner  (above  S.  Anastasia),  whei-e  some  relics 
of  Kingly  Rome  were  preserved  down  to  the  fall  of  the  Empire. 

III.  The  Palatine  was  selected  for  the  Imperial  residence  by 
Augustus,  who  built  over  the  space  now  called  the  Villa  Mills 
(convent  and  garden  della  Visitazione  —  Domus  Augustana). 

IV.  Tilierius,  born  probably  in  the  house  afterwards  owned  by 
Germanicus,  and  still  existing  in  good  condition,  built  a  new  wing, 
the  Domus  Tiberiana.  in  the  centre  of  the  Cermalus,  connecting 
it  with  that  of  Augustus  by  means  of  underground  passages  which 
are  still  visible  (Orti  Farnesiani). 

V.  Caligula  extended  the  house  of  Tiberius  over  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  Cermalus  in  the  direction  of  the  Forum  (Orti  Far- 
nesiani—  Domus  Caiana). 

1  Bv  S.  Bonavenfura. 


108       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE   PALATINE 

VI.  Nero  occupied  the  southeast  corner  (Villa  Barberini)  over- 
looking his  artificial  lake.  After  his  death  and  after  the  suppres- 
sion of  his  Golden  House,  the  plot  of  ground  was  converted  by 
Domitian  into  the  gardens  of  Adonis  (Horti  Adonea). 

The  Flavians  began  to  give  a  unity  of  plan  and  architecture  to 
the  existing  sections  of  the  palace,  raising  new  structures  in  the 
free  spaces  by  which  they  were  separated.  The  valley  across  the 
hill  was  filled  up  to  the  level  of  the  platform  of  the  Cermalus, 
and  upon  it  were  built  the  state  apartments  (^des  Publica^). 
The  house  of  Augustus,  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  Titus,  was  rebuilt 
in  harmony  with  its  surroundings ;  a  Stadium '  (Vigna  Ronconi, 
del  Collegio  Inglese)  and  a  garden,  Horti  Adonea  (Vigna  Bar- 
berini), were  added. 

Hadrian  and  Antoninus  satisfied  themselves  with  keei^ing  the 
property  in  repair,  as  proved  by  the  bricks  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  their  kilns,  which  are  found  everywhere.  Hadrian's 
principal  work  —  as  far  as  we  know  —  is  the  Exhedra  of  the 
Stadium  (Vigna  Ronconi,  del  Collegio  Inglese). 

Septimius  Severus,  after  repairing  the  damages  of  the  fire  of 
Commodus  (191)  added  an  immense  range  of  buildings  on  the 
edge  of  the  hill  facing  the  Ctelian  and  the  Appian  Way.  A 
section  was  occupied  by  the  Imperial  Thermae,  called  in  later 
documents  Balneum  Imperatoris,  while  the  front  of  the  palace, 
decorated  with  many  rows  of  columns,  received  the  name  of  Sep- 
tizonium  (Vigna  del  Collegio  Inglese).  The  same  Emperors 
brought  a  large  volume  of  water  from  the  Cfelian,  crossing  the  in- 
tervening valley  with  a  viaduct  36  metres  high  and  :J00  metres  long, 
remains  of  which  are  seen  in  the  Vigna  de'  Benfratelli.  The 
channel  ended  with  a'  reservoir  or  piscina  on  the  site  of  S.  Bona- 
ventura.  Other  additions  are  attributed  to  Severus  Alexander  and 
Heliogabalus  (Diajtje  Mammseiana,  Templum  Heliogabali,  etc.), 
which  have  not  yet  been  identified  with  any  of  the  existing 
ruins. 

Such  is  the  classic  topography  ot  the  hill  in  its  main  lines. 
With  the  help  of  the  plans  annexed  (Figs.  40,  41)  the  visitor 
hardly  needs  that  of  a  cicerone  or  of  a  f/uardin  degli  scavi  to 
make  himself  at  home  on  the  Palatine,  or  to  find  his  way  through 
th6  ruins  and  investigate  each  section,  either  by  itself  or  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  other  wings  of  the  ^Edes  Imperatoripe. 

I  must  confess,  however,  that  it  is  impossible  to  suggest  to  the 
student  any  itinerary  which  shall  combine  the  topographical  and 
1  Oil  the  correctness  of  this  denomination  see  §  xxi. 


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HINTS    TO    VISITORS 


109 


chronological  interest  of  the  buildings.  These  are  scattered  over 
the  hill  in  a  desultory  way.  Once  across  the  entrance  gate,  for 
instance,  the  visitor  is  confronted  by  three  monuments,  the  Mu- 
rus  Romuli,  the  Templum  Divi  Augusti,  and  the  chui'ch  of  S. 
Teodoro,  separated  by  a  gap  of  seven  and  fourteen  centuries  re- 
spectively. The  area  containing  the  hut  of  Romulus  is  siuTounded 
by  buildings  of  the  first  century  of  our  era.  It  is  impossible  to 
cross  over  from  the  Domus  Augustana  to  the  Tiberiana,  as  re- 
quired by  chronology,  without  crossing  the  oiKiav  Aofxinavov,  which 
is  three  quarters  of  a  century  later.  These  things  being  so,  I  have 
given  preference  to  the  chronological  order ;  in  other  words,  my 
description  is  written  for  the  use  of  visitors  not  pressed  for  time, 
who  can  devote  three  or  four  days  at  least  to  the  systematic  and 
rational  study  of  the  Palatine.  Those  who  have  no  leisure  can 
adopt  the  following  itinerary,  the  best  I  can  suggest,  taking  the 
various  sides  of  the  problem  into  consideration  :  — 


Ut  (/((^  — Walls  (if  Roimilus,  de- 
scribed §  viii. 

Altar  of  Aiiis  Locutius,  §  ix. 

Steps  of  Caciis,  §  x. 

Hut  of  Romulus,  §  xi. 

Temple  of  the  great  Mother  of 
the  Gods,  §  xiii. 

Paternal  house  of  Tiberius  (and 
Germanieus)  §  xvii. 

House  of  Tiberius,  §  xvi. 

House  of  Caligula,  S  xviii. 


'2cl  day  —  Temple  of  Augustus, 

§  iv. 
Clivus  Victoria',  §  vi. 
Palace  of  Domitian,  §  xix. 
Palace  of  Augustus,  §  xv. 
So-called  Stadium,  §  xxii. 
Palace  of  Septimius  Severus, 

§  xxiii. 
House  of  Gelotius,  §  xxvi. 
S.  Teodoro,  §  vji. 


The  visitor  must  bear  in  mind  one  fundamental  rule  :  that 
many  of  the  existing  ruins  belong  to  the  substructures,  and  cel- 
lars, and  underground  rooms  built  for  but  one  purpose,  —  to  level 
the  undulating  surface  of  the  hill,  and  to  extend  and  protract  the 
level  platform  over  the  slopes,  and  even  over  the  plain  below,  as  is 
the  case  with  the  Palace  of  Severus  and  the  Septizonium.  Tlieir 
plan  is  most  irregular  ;  they  have  no  light  and  very  little  ventila- 
tion ;  architecturally  speaking  they  count  for  nothing.  This  is 
the  reason  why  existing  maps  of  the  Palatine  are  so  difficult  to 
understand  :  we  find  marked  in  them  with  the  same  degree  of  im- 
portance apartments  of  state  and  crypts  which  were  destined 
never  to  be  seen.  I  have  tried  to  remedy  this  defect  in  Sheets 
xxix.  and  xxxv.  of  the  "  Forma  I'rbis,"'  where  the  apartments 
alone  are  depicted  in  full,  while  the  substructiu-es  are  simply 
traced  in  outline. 


110       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF  THE   PALATINE 

SiJecial  permission  is  required  to  visit  the  Palace  of  Augustus 
(see  §  xv).  The  Convent  of  the  Visitation  and  its  grounds  are 
practically  inaccessible.  The  Vigna  Barberini  and  the  chapel  of 
S.  Sebastian  are  opened  on  payment  of  a  fee  (see  §  xxxiii). 

The  Palatine  during  the  winter  months  ought  to  be  visited  in 
the  morning ;  during  the  spring  and  autumn  in  the  afternoon. 
There  is  always  a  great,  and  sometimes  a  dangerous,  difference  of 
temperature  between  the  sunny  and  the  shady  side  of  the  ruins. 
The  Palatine,  with  its  groves  of  ilexes  and  green  lawns  and  glori- 
ous views,  affords  a  delightful  promenade  even  to  those  who  are 
not  attracted  by  archasological  interests. 

General  References. —  Carlo  Fea,  Miscellanea  antiquaria,  vol.  i.  p.  86, 
n.  7G  ;  p.  87,  ii.  77  ;  p.  223,  n.  5,  6,  7.  —  Francesco  Biauchini,  Jl  palazzo  dei 
Cenari,  opera  postunia.  Verona,  1738.  —  Luigi  Kossiui,  I sette  colli.  Rome, 
1827.  —  Constantino  Thon  and  Vincenzo  Ballanti,  II  palazzo  dei  Cesari. 
Rome,  1828.  —  De  Agostini  and  Broiiferio,  //  7>a/a2zo  dei  Cesari.  Vercelli, 
1871.  —  Ipi>olito  Ruspoli,  Avanzi  e  ricordi  del  monte  Palatino.  Rome,  1846. — 
Fabio  (iori,  Gli  edijizi palatini  dopo  (/li  nltimi  scavi.  Rome,  1807. —  Heinrich 
Jordan,  I)ie  Kaiseipalciste  in  Rom.  Berlin,  1868.  —  Wilhelm  Henzen,  Annali 
dell'  Jnstit'uto,  1865,  p.  346  ;  1866,  p.  161.  —  Pietro  Rosa,  Relazione  sulle  sco- 
perte  archeoloyiche  neyli  unni  1871-72,  p.  75  ;  and  also  Plan  et peintures  de  la 
maison  de  Tihere,  mai,  1869.  —  Viseonti  and  Lanciani,  Guida  del  Palatino,  con 
plant  a  delineata  da  A.  ZangoUni.  Rome,  Boeea,  1873-93.  —  A.  Preuner,  I)as 
Pdlatiinn  in  alten  Rom.  Greifswald,  1875.  —  Gaston  B(jissier,  Promenades  ar- 
cheolof/iqves.  Paris,  1882.  —  Constantino  Maes,  Tojiograjia  storica  del  Palatino. 
Rome,  1883  (unfinished). — ^Deglane,  Le  palais  des  Cesars  (in  Gazette  archeo- 
logique,  1888,  pp.124,  145,  211).  — Otto  Richter,  Die  dlteste  Wolinsiitte  des  Ro- 
misclien  Volkes.  Rome,  Berlin,  1891. — John  Henr^' Middleton,  The  Remains 
of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  i.  chap.  iv.  \).  158. —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  II  palazzo  mag- 
giore  (in  Mittheihmgen,  1894,  p.  1).  Forma  Urhis  Romxe,  plates  xxix.,  xxxv.  ; 
and  Ancient  Rome,  chap.  v.  p.  106. — Christian  Huelsen,  Untersuchungen  zur 
topographie  des  Palatins  (in  Mittheihmgen,  1895,  p.  3). 

TT.  The  Origin  of  the  Palatine  City.  —  Two  discoveries 
have  illustrated  from  a  new  point  of  view  the  origin  of  Palatine 
Rome,  that  of  the  city  of  Antemn?e,  and  that  of  the  Terramara  di 
Fontanellato. 

According  to  tradition  ^  Antemnte  was  a  flourishing  settlement 
when  a  colony  of  Alban  shepherds  occupied  the  Palatine.  The 
distance  between  the  two  places  being  less  than  four  miles,  and 
their  bartering  trade  very  active,  as  they  were  located  on  the  same 
(left)  bank  of  the  Tiber  and  on  the  same  road  (Salaria  Vetus),  we 

1  Antonio  Nibby,  Analisi  dei  dintorni  di  Roma,  vol.  i.  p.  161.  —  Dennis, 
Cities  and  Cemeteries  of  Etrnria,  vol.  i.  p.  44.  —  William  Gell,  Topography  of 
Rome,  p.  64.  —  Smith's  Diction,  geograph.,  vol.  i.  p.  139. 


THE    ORIGIN   OF   THE   PALATINE    CITY  111 

may  assume  that  manners,  habits,  stage  of  civilization,  etc.,  were 
about  the  same  in  Rome  and  Antemu;\?.  Antemna;  died  a  sudden 
death  a  few  years  after  the  foundation  of  Rome.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  a  search  made  on  the  site  of  tlie  former  corresponds 
practically  to  a  search  made  in  the  lower  strata  of  Kingly  Palatine. 
The  search  w^as  made  in  LSS2-8;J,  while  the  hill  %vas  crowned  by  a 
fort.^     The  facts  ascertained  were  these  (see  Fig.  42). 

The  city  occupied  the  platform  of  the  hill,  protected  by  cliffs 
or  rivers  (ante  amnes)  on  every  side,  except  where  a  neck  or  isth- 
mus connected  it  with  the  tableland  (Monti  Parioli,  Villa  Ada). 
The  natural  strength  of  the  site  had  been  increased  by  a  wall 
built  of  blocks  of  local  stone,  each  two  feet  (0.59  metre)  high  and 
three  (0.89)  long.  There  were  three  gates,  one  leading  to  the  river 
to  the  springs,  one  to  the  highroad  (Salaria),  the  third  to  the 
cemetery  and  pasture-lands.  The  Antemnates  lived  in  round  or 
square  huts,  witli  a  framework  of  timber  and  a  thatched  roof,  the 
site  of  which  is  nmrked  by  a  hard-trodden,  coal-colored  floor  within 
a  ring  of  I'ough  stones.  Their  public  buildings,  like  the  temple 
and  the  curia,  were  of  better  style,  and  probably  all  of  stone. 
The  cattle  were  driven  at  night  into  the  inclosures  or  sheepfolds 
adjoining  each  hut.  The  area  inclosed  by  walls  was  therefore 
much  larger  than  was  required  by  the  number  of  inhabitants. 

In  times  of  peace  the  Antemnates  di'ank  from  the  springs  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill ;  for  times  of  war  they  had  provided  them- 
selves with  cisterns  and  wells  under  shelter  of  the  fortifications. 
One  of  tlie  wells  still  in  use  is  54  feet  deep ;  and  one  of  the  cis- 
terns, covered  by  a  triangular  roof  (destroyed  1883),  could  hold 
5000  gallons  of  water  (see  Fig.  4o). 

The  civilization  of  the  Antemnates  when  their  city  ceased  to 
exist  was  in  the  '•  bronze  "  stage.  One  third  of  their  pottery  and 
domestic  ware  was  of  local  make,  and  baked  in  an  open  fire ;  the 
rest  was  of  Etruscan  importation.  There  were  traces  of  the 
stone  period,  such  as  arrow-heads  and  lance-spears  of  polished 
flint,  clay  beads,  and  fragments  of  the  roughest  kind  of  pottery. 

This  description  answers  word  for  word  to  that  of  the  city  on 
the  Palatine.  Here  again  we  have  the  isolated  hill  pi'otected  by 
cliffs,  by  water,  and  by  a  circuit  of  walls ;  the  neck  of  the  Velia 
connecting  it  with  the  tableland  of  the  Esquiline ;  the  gate  lead- 
ing to  the  river  and  springs  (j-omanuki),  tliat  leading  to  the  pas- 
ture fields  and  cemeteries  (»n<r/o;//rt),and  a  third  descending  to  the 
Vallis  Murtia  ;  the  wells  and  cisterns  within   the   fortifications  ; 

1  Notkk  degli  Scai-i,  1882,  p.  415  ;  188.'5,  p.  10  ;  1886,  p.  24  ;  1887,  p.  fi4. 


112       THE   RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF   THE  PALATINE 

and  other  sxich  cliaracteristics  of  the  age.  The  description  we 
have  of  the  Casa  Romuli,  kept  in  its  prehistoric  simplicity  as  late 
as  the  fourth  century  after  Christ,  shows  that  the  Romans,  like  the 
Antemnates,  lived  in  straw  huts ;  and  furthermore,  the  discoveries 
made  in  the  cemeteries  of  the  Viminal  and  of  the  Esquiline  prove 


Xcvft-C      o^    or-ovAA-fc^ 


Fig.  43.  —  Reservoir  at  AntenniB. 

that  their  civilization  was  in  the  "  bronze  "  stage.  (See  Ancient 
Rome,  chap.  ii.  p.  26).  Roman  archaic  pottery  was  half  of  local 
(or  All)an)  make,  half  of  Etruscan  importation. ^  Cattle  were 
driven  in  at  night,  each  family  being  provided  with  an  ugellua  and 
a  sheepfold. 

What  has  been  said  about  Rome  and  Antemna?  must  be  ai^jjlied 
to  other  contemporary  settlements  like  Collatia,  Fidense,  Labicum, 
Ardea,  Gabii,  Veil,  etc.,  the  sites  of  which,  excepting  that  of  Veii, 
have  not  yet  been  scientifically  investigated.  They  were  all 
organized  on  the  same  system :  their  walls  inclosed  an  area  ten 
times  as  large  as  that  required  by  the  number  of  inhabitants, 
becanse  they  shared  it  with  their  flocks,  and  each  hut  had  its  own 
sheepfold  and  orchard.  The  highest  and  strongest  point  within 
the  walls  was  occupied  by  the  citadel,  containing  the  temple,  the 
curia,  the  ajrarium,  and  the  reservoir  for  rain-water.  After  the  Ro- 
man conquest  the  scanty  surviving  population  was  concentrated  on 
the  site  of  the  citadel,  and  the  rest  of  the  city  cut  up  into  farms 
and  allotted  to  Roman  colonists.     The  Roman  municipia  of  Veii 

1  Tlie  ajTliaic  KeinirjAia  {liscovt'red  in  tlie  cemeteries  of  Kintjly  Rome  were  re- 
moved in  Septemher,  1895,  from  liall  No.  H.  of  the  Museo  Mnnieipale  al  Celio 
to  two  rooms  of  the  I'alazzo  dei  Conservator!,  wliere  the  want  of  light  and 
space  makes  their  examination  almost  impossible. 


THE    ORIGIN   OF   THE   PALATINE    CITY  113 

(Piazza  d'  Aniii),  of  Fidenaj  (]\lonte  di  Villa  Spada),  of  Gabii 
(farmhouse  of  Castiglione)  are  all  that  mark  the  place  of  the 
respective  citadels  of  the  time  of  the  independence,  while  the  area 
once  inclosed  by  the  city  walls  was  put  into  cultivation.  For  this 
reason  it  is  almost  impossible  to  recognize  the  site  of  the  huts  and 
the  extent  of  the  piece  of  ground  pertaining  to  each  of  them ; 
in  other  words,  to  decide  whether  the  old  Sabine,  Etruscan,  and 
Latin  cities  in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Tiber  had  a  cardo  and  a 
decumamis,  and  were  planned,  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
agrimetutlo,  in  square  plots  or  heredia. 

My  opinion  is  that  they  were  not.  In  the  excavations  made  in 
1889  within  tlie  walls  of  Veii,^  I  have  seen  traces  of  primitive 
habitations  which  were  not  "oriented,"  and  the  same  thing  was 
observed  at  Antemnaj.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  proper  search 
has  yet  been  made  in  the  lower  strata  of  the  Palatine,  where  the 
excavations  stop  generally  at  the  wrong  level,  leaving  most,  of 
the  problems  unsolved;'^  but  I  believe  that  the  shepherds  who 
occupied  the  hill  in  7o'-i  n.  c.  had  no  idea  whatever  of  gromatic  or 
astronomical  rules  of  their  own,  so  that  the  sulcua  primi(/<iilus  had 
to  be  traced  according  to  a  foreign  rite.  Rome  and  its  neighbor- 
ing settlements  on  eitlier  side  of  tlie  "  Rumou  "  must  luive  looked 
like  tlie  temporaiy  villages  which  the  peasants  of  the  present  day 
build  in  tlie  Pomptiue  marshes  or  in  the  Agro  Romano,  when  they 
come  down  from  their  mountains  for  the  cultivation  of  the  maize- 
fields.  The  prototy))e  of  these  prehistoric  contemporary  settle- 
ments is  the  village  constructed  every  autumn  on  the  borders  of 
the  (now  drained)  lake  of  Gabii,  at  the  twelfth  milestone  on  the 
Via  Pra>nestina,  and  inhabited  by  a  half-savage  tribe  of  two 
hundred  mountaineers.  I  never  fail  to  take  our  students  to  this 
remarkable  village  during  the  university  term,  to  give  them  an 
object-lesson  more  impressive  than  any  which  can  be  found  in  the 
whole  of  the  Canipagua. 

The  populations  of  the   Terramare,^  on  the  contrary,  seem  to 

1  Described  in  Not'tzie.  Jer/li  Scavi,  1889,  pp.  10,  29,  GO,  15-t,  238. 

2  GoettVmg  (Geschich  1 1'  der  Riiiaiitch.  Shidtsveru-.,  ])p.  49,  202,  235)  believes 
the  Sacra  Via  to  have  bet-n  the  (lecumaiiit.'i  marking  tiic  boundary  between  the 
Sabine  and  tlie  Roman  city;  but  the  Sacra  Via  of  those  days  was  but  a  iriud- 
in;!  path  oiitsidv  the  PahUine,  to  whioli  alone  my  considerations  refer. 

3  The  name  Terramnrn  is  a  corruption  of  that  of  Terra  mama,  given  till 
1862  to  the  special  kind  of  earth,  rich  in  organic  qualities,  which  the  peasants 
of  upper  Italy  dug  from  prehistoric  stations,  and  used  as  a  fertilizer.  When 
Pigorini  and  Strobel  began  their  study  of  these  stations  they  adopted  the 
corrupted  name  "  Terraniara  "  in  preference  to  "Terra  niarna,"  to  avoid  the 
confusion  which  the  epithet  "marl"  might  produce  in  scientific  treatises. 


THE    ORIGIN    OF  THE   PALATINE    CITY 


115 


have  been  faiuiliHr  with  the  principles  of  the  ai/rimctatin.  The 
startling  discoveries  made  by  Pigorini  in  the  terramara  at  Cas- 
tellazzo  di  Fontanellato,  in  the  province  of  Parma,  are  described 
in  the  following  papers  :  — 

Nolizie  dcfjll  Scam,  1889,  p.  355;  1891,  p.  304;  1892,  p.  450;  1895,  p.  9.— 
Monumenti  inedili  Accademia  Lincei,  vol.  i.  (1889),  ]).  123.  —  Bullettino  di 
paleoelnolo(/in  iUdinna,  vol.  xix.  (1893),  tav.  viii.  —  Friedricli  von  Duliii,  Ntue 
Heidelberi/er  Jahrbiichtr,  vol.  iv.  (1894),  p.  143. 


Fig.  46.  —  Plan  of  the  Terramara  di  Foutanellato. 

This  primitive  settlement  of  immigrants  in  the  "  Poebene "  ^ 
forms  an  oblong  280  metres  wide  between  the  parallel  sides,  480 
metres  long,  and  covers  an  area  of  lOi  hectares  (195,525  square 
metres).  Its  fortified  inclosiu-e  comprises  a  ditch  (A)  100  Roman 
feet  wide,  12  deep  (oOX'^-50  metres),  and  an  affger  or  embankment 
(B)  formed  with  the  earth  excavated  from  the  ditch,  sloping 
towards  the  water  and  supported  by  a  perpendicular  palisade  (C) 
on  the  inner  side.  The  adoption  of  a  trapezoid  form  in  the  Ter- 
ramare,  instead  of  the  square  or  parallelogram,  is  explained  by 
1  The  valley  of  the  Po  and  of  its  affluents. 


116       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS   OF    THE   PALATINE 

the  fact  that  the  sharp  coi-ner  (D)  always  faces  the  river  (E),  from 
which  the  supply  of  water  for  the  ditcli  is  derived,  so  as  to  divide 
it  into  two  equal  streams,  which  meet  again  at  the  outlet  (F). 
There  was  but  one  gate,  approached  by  a  bridge  30  metres  wide 
(G),  the  axis  of  which  is  in  a  line  with  the  cai-do  or  high  street 
(H,  I),  cutting  the  village  in  two  halves.  The  quarter  (K)  west 
of  the  high  street  was  entirely  occupied  by  huts  built  on  palisades ; 
on  the  opposite  side  we  find  the  central  portion  occupied  by  a 
square  of  solid  gi-ound  (L)  100  metres  long  and  50  wide,  protected 
by  a  ditch  30  metres  wide  and  6  deep,  and  approached  by  a  bridge 
(M)  on  the  line  of  the  decumanus.  This  foi'tified  terrace  represents 
the  lemplum  in  the  primitive  sense  of  the  word,  or,  to  use  the 
expression  of  Helbig,  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  arx  of  Italian 
towns  and  of  the  prcetorhmi  of  Roman  camps.  There  were  two 
cemeteries  outside  the  fortifications  (N,  O),  also  inclosed  by  a  ditch 
and  made  accessible  by  a  bridge.  The  cremated  remains  of  the 
Terramaricoli  were  kept  in  clay  urns,  placed  in  rows  on  a  wooden 
platform  supported  by  palisades.  • 

If  the  reader  refer  to  the  map  of  the  Palatine,  Fig.  44,  he  will 
find  that  nature  had  done  for  early  Rome  nearly  all  the  work 
that  human  labor  and  ingenuity  had  done  at  Fontanellato.  Tlie 
marshes  of  the  two  Velabra  and  the  pond,  which  Nero  transformed 
afterwards  into  the  lake  of  the  Golden  House,  represent  the  water 
defenses  ;  the  neck  of  the  Velia  i-epresents  the  bridge  ;  the  cliffs 
answer  for  the  embankment.  Other  points  of  resemblance  are  the 
square  form,  the  angle  facing  the  stream  (Nodinus?)  which  fed 
the  greater  Velabrum,  and  the  area  of  about  seventeen  hectares. 
The  Romans,  however,  did  not  wait  long  to  make  themselves  fa- 
miliar witii  the  at/rimctatio  and  to  adopt  the  pes  (.297  metres), 
wiili  its  multiples  and  fractions,  as  the  standard  national  measure. 
When  Servius  Tullius  built  the  great  agger  for  the  protection  of 
the  city  on  the  east  side,  he  simply  copied  in  the  minutest  details 
the  fortifications  of  the  Terramare.  The  agger  of  Servius  com- 
prises a  ditch  exactly  one  hundred  pedes  wide  and  thirty  deep ;  an 
embankment  made  with  the  earth  of  the  ditch,  sloping  towards  the 
city  and  supported  by  a  wall  on  the  outside.  The  three  gates,  Col- 
lina,  Viminalis,  and  Esquilina,  were  approached  by  bridges.  The 
ground  on  the  other  side  of  the  ditch  was  occupied  by  cemeteries. 

The  history  of  the  Palatine,  from  the   foundation  of  the  city 

1  In  the  campaign  of  last  summer  (189.5)  Pigorini  discovered  side  streets 
parallel  with  the  crn-du  and  the  decwmanus.  The  Terramara,  therefore,  was 
divided  into  regular  squares  or  parallelograms. 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    PALATINE    CITY  117 

to  that  of  the  Empire,  is  not  known.  At  the  time  of  Tarquinius 
Priscus  (616-578)  it  was  still  honored  by  the  kingly  i-esidence,  a 
casa  of  more  elaborate  construction  than  the  ordinary  citizens' 
huts,  placed  near  the  Porta  Mugonia  and  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Stator  (Solinus,  i.  24).  The  hill  was  not  above  the  reach  of  fever, 
even  after  the  drainage  of  the  lesser  Velabrum,  accomplished  by 
Tarquinius  by  means  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  as  the  worship  of  the 
Dea  Febria  was  never  intermitted,  and  her  temple  and  altar  were 
not  abandoned  for  centuries  after.  Beside  the  Fever's  shrine,  there 
were  others  to  the  Dea  Virii^laca,  a  protectress  of  domestic  peace ; 
to  Orbona,  the  evil  genius  of  blindness  ;  an  altar  to  Aius  Locutius 
(described  §  ix.)  ;  temples  to  Victory  (§  vi.)  ;  to  the  great  Mother 
of  the  Gods  (§  xiii.)  ;  and  to  Jupiter  I'ropugnator  (§  xiv.). 

Towards  the  end  of  the  Republic  the  Palatine  became  one  of 
the  most  aristocratic  quarters  of  the  city,  resorted  to  by  the  great 
orators,  lawyers,  and  political  men  of  the  age  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  the  Curia,  the  Rostra,  and  the  Forum.  The  follow- 
ing palatial  residences  are  recorded  in  classic  texts  :  — 

1.  House  of  M.  Fulvius  Flaccus,  destroyed  by  order  of  the  senate, 
after  his  execution  for  his  share  in  the  conspiracy  of  the  (iracchi. 
The  sjiace  left  vacant,  area  Flacciana,  was  occupied  soon  after  by  a 
wing  of  the  Porticus  Catuli. 

2.  House  of  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,  consul  b.  c.  102,  with  Marius, 
with  whom  he  gained  the  victory  over  the  Cimbri,  near  Vercelbv. 
With  his  share  in  the  spoils  of  war  he  enlarged  his  house  and  con- 
nected it  with  a  portico,  the  Porticus  Catuli,  where  thirty-one  flags 
taken  from  the  enemy  were  exhibited. 

3.  House  of  ]\I.  Livius  Drusus,  tribute  of  the  plebs  in  is.  c.  91, 
the  great  i-eformer  of  social  laws,  whose  murder  by  Q.  Varius  was 
immediately  followed  by  the  social  w'ar,  which  his  policy  would 
have  averted.  The  house  was  inherited  by  Crassus  the  orator,  who, 
having  ornamented  its  impluvium  with  four  columns  of  Ilymettian 
marble,  the  first  ever  seen  in  Rome,  was  nicknamed  the  "Palatine 
Venus."  Cicero  bought  it  in  December,  62,  for  a  sum  correspond- 
ing to  $155,000.  The  peristyle  was  shaded  by  six  marvelous  lotus- 
trees,  which  perished  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  later  in  the 
fire  of  Nero.  It  passed  afterwards  into  the  hands  of  C.  JNIarcius 
Censorinus,  another  great  orator  and  Greek  scholar ;  of  L.  Corne- 
lius Sisenna,  annalist  historian,  translator  of  the  IMilesian  tales  of 
Aristides ;  of  A.  Ca^cina  Largus,  probably  the  author  of  the  book 
on  the  "  Etrusca  Disciplina;"  and  finally  it  was  absorbed  into 
Caligula's  palace. 


118       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE  PALATINE 

4.  House  of  Quintus  Cicero,  near  the  one  of  his  brother  Marcus, 
but  lower  down  the  slope  of  the  hill.  It  was  wrecked  and  burnt 
to  the  ground  by  Clodius. 

5.  House  of  Clodius,  the  notorious  enemy  of  Cicero,  —  composed 
of  two  portions :  one  belonging  to  Cicero  himself,  which  he  had 
bought  at  the  time  of  the  banishment  of  the  orator ;  one  to  C. 
Seius,  which  he  had  obtained  by  poisoning  the  owner  on  his  refusal 
to  sell.  The  domus  Clodiana  was  nuignificent,  and  commanded  a 
glorious  view. 

6.  House  of  M.  ^milius  Scaurus,  stepson  of  Sulla,  the  dictator, 
perhaps  the  richest  of  all  Palatine  residences.  When  Cicero  was 
restored  to  the  possession  of  his  own,  he  tried  to  take  a  revenge  on 
the  usurper  Clodius  by  raising  one  or  two  floors  so  as  to  cut  off  the 
view  of  which  his  enemy  was  so  proud.  To  avoid  this  danger 
Clodius  purchased  the  palace  of  Scaurus  for  a  sum  of  $4,425,000  (?), 
having  already  spent  $655,000  on  his  owai. 

All  these  residences  were  in  the  district  of  the  Clivus  Victoria?, 
at  the  corner  of  the  hill  commanding  the  Forum,  and  must  have 
disappeared  when  Caligula  extended  the  Imjierial  Palace  as  far  as 
the  Nova  Via  and  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux. 

7.  The  paternal  house  of  Augustus,  in  the  lane  called  the  "  Oxen- 
heads,"  at  the  east  corner  of  the  hill.     (See  §  xv.) 

8.  The  liouse  of  Quintus  Hortensius,  first  the  rival,  then  the 
associate  of  Cicero  ;  a  man  of  immense  wealth,  and  endowed  with 
a  memory  so  retentive  that  he  could  repeat  the  auction-list  back- 
wards on  coming  out  of  sale-rooms.  He  was  also  the  first  to  in- 
clude peacocks  in  Roman  dinner  menus.  Hortensius's  residence 
was  purchased  by  Augustus,  and  inclosed  in  the  Imperial  Palace 
together  with 

9.  The  liouse  of  L.  Sergius  Catilina.  Both  were  on  the  edge  of 
the  hill  facing  the  Circus  Maximus. 

It  is  now  time  for  us  to  enter  the  precincts  of  the  famous  hill, 
and  examine  one  by  one  the  remains  which  bear  evidence  on  so 
many  points  of  the  political  and  monumental  history  of  the 
"  queen  of  the  world." 

III.  ViGXA  NusiNEK.  —  The  strip  of  land  between  the  north- 
western cliffs  of  the  Cermalus  and  the  Vic  us  Tuscus,  by  which  we 
enter  the  excavations,  is  known  to  topographers  by  the  name  of 
Vigna  Nusiner,  and  is  represented  in  the  following  fragment  of  the 
marble  plan  of  Rome,  published  by  Trendelenburg  in  the  "  Archae- 


VIGXA    YUSLVER  119 

ologische  Zeitung,"'  LSTo,  vol.  xxxiii.  p.  o'J ;  and  by  myself  in  the 
"  Bull.  com.  arch.,"  vol.  xiii.  (1886),  p.  159.     (See  Fig.  47.) 

The  Clivus  Victorise,  cut  in  the  live  rock  along  the  foot  of  the 
cliffs,  bounds  the  triangular  space  on  one  side,  the  Templum  Divi 
Augusti  on  the  second,  the  Vicus  Tiiscus  on  the  third.  The  ground 
contains,  besides,  the  Springs  of  Juturna,  the  Murus  Romuli,  the 
Altar  of  Aius  Locutius  (the  Lupercal),  and  the  church  of,  S. 
Teodoro.  All  these  monuments  and  landnu\rks,  excepting  the 
temple  and  the  church,  belong  to  the  earliest  period  of  Roman 
history,  so  tliat  we  could  not  begin  our  visit  to  the  Palatine  in 
more  regular  order. 

The  Vigna  Nusiner  has  l)een  excavated  oftener  than  any  other 
part  of  the  Palatine,  and  yet  we  know  very  little  about  it  for  want 
of  proper  accounts.  The  Frangipani  owned  it  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  together  with  a  fortified  house  called  "  Lo  Palazzo 
de  Frigiapani."  I  have  found  two  deeds  in  the  records  of  that 
family  :  one  dated  January  21,  1510,  by  which  the  brothers  Giam- 
battista  and  Marcello  Frangipani  give  permission  to  the  rector  of 
the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  ai  JVIonti  to  open  cavain  seu  fossuram 
lapidum  in  their  vineyard  iiix/a  stDictuin  Theodoruin  ;  the  second, 
dated  October  23,  1535,  relates  to  a  controversy  between  Antonino 
Frangipani  and  Camilla  Alberini  over  the  produce  of  the  excava- 
tions which  a  stone-cutter  named  (iiuliano  was  making  at  that  time. 

In  154ft-15.5()  tJie  contractors  for  the  sup]>ly  of  Iniilding  materials 
to  S.  Peter's  found  the  pavement  of  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  the  pedestal 
of  the  statue  of  Vortumnus,  and  the  remains  of  a  temple  with 
columns,  capitals,  entablature,  and  a  frieze  ornamented  with  griffins 
and  candelabra.  The  plunder  was  so  considerable  that  no  fresh 
excavations  were  attempted  for  a  lapse  of  a  century  and  a  half. 
The  land  was  turned  into  a  kitchen-garden,  famous  for  its  arti- 
chokes. In  a  contract  of  ^larch  11,  16-10,  the  spring  hai'vest  of 
them  is  valued  at  110  scudi. 

A  new  search  was  made  in  1720,  between  the  churches  of  S. 
Teodoro  and  S.  Anastasia.  It  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  portico 
with  pilasters  of  travertine  (one  of  the  three  marked  in  the  frag- 
ment of  the  marble  plan),  of  pieces  of  columns,  and  of  a  row  of 
rooms  filled  with  objects  of  metal  and  scoria},  to  which  Venuti 
gives  the  name  oi  foiulerln  /xilatina,  or  imperial  brass-foundry. 

Giovanni  Battista  Visconti  opened  the  ground  for  the  fifth  time 
at  least ;  but  his  progress  was  stopped  by  the  house  of  Naples 
under  the  plea  that  he  was  undermining  the  walls  that  held  up 
the  Farnese  gardens. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   AUGUSTUS  121 

111  June,  1845,  the  antiquarian  Vescovali,  acting  on  behalf  of 
the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  had  purchased  the  Vigna  for  the  sake 
of  excavating,  discovered  the  remains  of  the  Domiis  Gelotiana 
(see  §  xxvi.)  ;  in  December,  1846,  he  came  upon  those  of  the 
Murus  Romuli ;  and  in  April,  1847,  upon  the  remains  of  a  private 
house  on  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  decorated  with  columns  of  porphyry 
and  giallo  antico. 

In  18G9  Pius  IX.  laid  bare  the  pavement  of  the  Clivus  Victoriae 
and  tlie  alleged  site  of  the  Porta  Romanula.  The  Italian  govern- 
ment began  the  last  and  general  excavation  of  the  place  in  1876 
(and  again  in  1884),  but  the  work  was  soon  given  up  without 
results. 

On  entering  the  Palatine  by  the  S.  Teodoro  gate  we  are 
confronted  with  the  Augustseum  on  the  left,  with  the  Clivus 
Victoriae  and  the  Fons  Juturnae  opposite  the  gate,  with  the  chui-ch 
of  S.  Teodoro  and  the  Murus  Romuli  on  the  right. 

IV.  Templum  divi  Augusti  (Temple  of  Augustus).  —  Tlie 
temple  in  honor  of  the  deified  founder  of  the  Empire  was  begun 
by  his  widow  Livia  and  by  Tiberius,  his  adopted  son,  and  com- 
pleted by  Caligula.  Domitian  restored  it  after  the  fire  of  Titus. 
Pliny  (xii.  19,  42)  describes,  among  the  curiosities  of  the  place, 
a  root  of  a  cinnamon  tree  of  great  size  placed  by  Livia  on  a 
golden  plate,  the  sap  of  which  was  hardened  into  globules  every 
year ;  and  also  a  famous  picture  of  Hyacinthus  by  Nikias  the 
Athenian,  which  Augustus  had  brought  from  Alexandria.  The 
plan  and  design  of  the  building  are  different  fi-om  the  recognized 
type  of  a  Roman  temple,  the  front  being  on  the  long  side  of  the 
parallelogram  instead  of  the  short.  The  shape  seems  special  to 
the  Augusta?a,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  statues 
which  had  to  be  placed  on  the  suggestum  opposite  the  door,  the 
deified  Emperor  being  generally  surrounded  by  other  members 
of  the  family.  The  temple  is  mentioned  in  connection  with 
Caligula's  bridge,  which  is  supposed  to  have  crossed  the  valley  of 
the  Forum  at  a  great  height,  so  as  to  enable  the  young  monarch 
to  walk  on  a  level  from  his  palace  to  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  on  the 
Capitol.  The  bridge  never  existed  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word. 
Caligula  passed  from  roof  to  roof  of  the  intermediate  buildings, 
spanning  the  gaps  of  the  streets  with  temporary  wooden  passages. 
Suetonius  and  Flavins  Josephus  mention  among  these  buildings, 
first,  the  Templum  divi  Augusti,  then  the  Basilica  Julia.  There 
is  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  these  noble  ruins,  placed  between  the 
Basilica  and  the  Emperor's  palace,  belong  to  the  Augusta3um. 


122       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    T FIE  PALATINE 

The  back  wall  of  the  temple,  the  murus  post  cedem  diri  A  ugusti  ad 
Minervam,  was  used  for  the  posting  of  state  notices  and  imperial 
decrees.  Two  attendants  of  the  Augustaeum  are  mentioned  in 
epigi'aphic  documents:  a  Bathyllus,  fpr/Z/Hw.s'  tcmpll  diri,  Angusti  el 
divce  Augustce  quod  est  in  Palatium   (Corpus,  vi.  n.  4222),  and  a 


ATRIVA\    VE-STA& 


Fig.  48.  —  Plan  of  the  Aiigustaeum. 


T.  Flavins  Onesimus,  cedituus  templi  novi  divi  A  ugusti  (n.  8704). 
The  temple  has  been  excavated  at  least  five  times.  I  have  found 
in  the  state  archives  an  Act  of  October  2,  1526,  by  which  Jacopo 
de'  ]\Iuti  gives  back  to  a  poor  widow,  Lucrezia  Collino,  the  caution 
deposited  by  her  before  she  began  the  excavations  in  the  garden 
of  S.  Maria  Liberatrice. 

Pirro  Ligorio  was  able  to  draw  the  plan  of  the  structure  about 
1549,  in  consequence  of   the  excavations  described  in  Book  III. 


THE   SPRINGS    OF  JUT  URN  A  123 

§  xxi.  (See  Middleton,  The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  i. 
p.  275,  fig.  35.) 

In  1702  a  contractor  named  Andrea  Bianchi  gained  permission 
from  Sister  Costanza  di  Santacroce,  abbess  of  the  monastery  of 
Torre  de'  Specchi,  to  search  for  building  materials  within  and 
near  the  temple.  He  found  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua, 
that  is  to  say,  tliat  inner  hall  of  the  Augustajum  which  had  been 
adapted  to  Cliristian  worship  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Marj%  in  opjiositiou  to  the  worship 
of  Vesta,  the  headquarters  of  which  were  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street.  There  are  two  desci-ijitions  of  the  find :  one  by  Galletti  in 
the  Vatican  Library  (Chron.  miscell.  xxxiii.)  ;  another  by  Valesio 
in  Cancellieri's  ''  Solenni  possessi,"  p.  370.  The  church  was  level 
with  the  floor  of  the  Augustpeum,  and  ended  with  an  apse,  with 
frescoes  representing  the  Saviour  and  some  saints,  among  which 
was  prominent  the  figure  of  Paul  T.  (757-767),  with  the  square 
nimbus  and  the  legend  Sanctisa.  Paulus  Romanus  Papa.  The  fres- 
coes on  the  walls  of  the  aisles  represented  scenes  in  the  life  of  the 
Saviour,  with  texts  from  the  Ciospel  in  Greek  and  Gothico-Latin 
letters.  The  figure  of  the  crucifix  sliowed  the  feet  nailed  apart. 
Benedict  XIV.  ordered  the  church  to  be  roofed  over  and  kept  open 
for  inspection,  but  the  order  was  never  executed. 

In  1735  Antonio  Vanui  excavated  the  plot  of  ground  near  the 
temple  known  as  the  Caprareccia. 

The  last  excavation  took  place  in  1885.  It  was  discovered  then 
that  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua  l)ehind  the  Augustseum  had 
been  put  in  communication  with  the  Augusta^um  itself,  by  cutting 
an  irregular  passage  through  the  partition  wall  seven  feet  thick. 
The  sides  of  the  passage  were  covered  with  figures  of  saints  painted 
in  the  eleventh  century,  with  the  name  appended  to  each  of  them : 
those  of  the  Eastern  Church,  led  by  Scs.  Basilivs,  on  one  side ; 
those  of  the  Western,  led  by  Scs.  Benedictvs,  on  the  other. 
The  two  images  are  connected  with  the  Basilian  and  Benedictine 
brotherhoods  and  convents  which  at  that  time  flourished  on  the 
Palatine  (S.  Cesario  in  Palatio  and  S.  Sebastiano  in  Pallara). 

LiTERATURK.  —  PiiTO  Ligorio,  Bodleian  MSS.,  fol.  33.  —  Henry  Parker,  The 
Foi'uin  Romanum,  London,  187li,  plates  21  and  24.  —  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1882, 
April,  pi.  16.  —  Henry  Middleton,  The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  2d  ed.,  vol. 
i.  p.  275,  fig.  35.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  BuUetiino  cristiano,  1885,  p.  143.— 
Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  101. 

V.  FoNS  JuTURN.E  (the  Springs  of  Juturna).  —  The  Temple  of 
Augustus  is  built  against  the  live  rock  of  the  Palatine,  masses 


124       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE  PALATINE 

of  which  appear  all  along  the  Clivus  Victorian,  above  and  under 
the  pavement  of  the  street.  Opposite  the  gate  by  which  we  have 
entered  the  excavations,  and  i-ight  under  the  west  wall  of  the 
temple,  the  rock  is  perforated  witli  wells  and  channels,  cut  for 
the  purpose  of  reaching  and  regulating  the  springs  with  which 
the  lower  or  quaternary  clay  strata  are  here  saturated.  This  is 
the  celebrated  Fons  Juturnte,  placed  by  Dionysius,  Ovid,  Florus, 
etc.,  at  the  north  corner  of  the  Palatine,  the  waters  of  which,  on 
reaching  the  plain,  expanded  into  a  deep  pond  (jn-ofunda  palus) 
called  the  Lacus  Curtius.  Here  the  apparition  of  the  Dioscuri 
took  place,  to  announce  to  the  Romans  the  victory  of  Lake  Regil- 
lus :  they  were  seen  washing  and  watering  their  hoi'ses  '•  at  the 
spring  which  made  a  pool  near  the  Temple  of  Vesta,"  ^  between  it 
and  the  temple  raised  to  the  celestial  messengers  themselves  in 
memory  of  the  event.  The  jiond  was  drained  after  the  opening 
of  the  Cloaca  IVIaxima,  and  the  only  trace  left  of  it  was  a  well 
and  a  puteal  inscribed  with  the  name  of  divtvr  ;  perhaps  the 
very  one  now  preserved  in  the  Vatican  Museum,  Galleria  Lapi- 
daria,  No.  164. 

Although  the  accumulation  of  modern  soil  and  ruins  conceals 
these  springs  from  view,  they  have  never  ceased  to  flow,  and  to 
find  and  force  their  w^ay  towards  the  Cloaca  Maxima.  In  Cres- 
cimbeni's  "  History  of  S.  M.  in  Cosmedin,"  p.  14,  we  find  this 
report  by  Angelo  Maffei,  dated  September  25,  1715:  "I  remember 
to  have  seen,  in  my  early  youth,  the  ground  open  and  sink  into 
a  chasm  fifty  cubits  deej:*  near  the  three  columns  [of  Castor's 
temple],  and  a  mass  of  water  rush  at  the  bottom  of  it."  The 
accident,  caused  by  the  erosion  of  subterranean  springs  upon  the 
earth,  must  have  happened  at  other  times,  because  this  corner  of 
the  Palatine  was  known  in  Middle  Ages  under  the  name  of  "  the 
Hell "  (T  Inferno) ;  hence  the  name  of  the  church  above,  S.  Maria 
lUiera  nos  a  poenis  Inferni.  The  traditional  adventure  of  Q. 
Curtius  may  have  originated  from  a  like  phenomenon  in  the 
fourth  century  u.  c. 

Another .  powerful  jet  of  water  appeared  in  May,  1702,  in  the 
excavations  of  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua  mentioned  above ; 
another  in  March,  1810,  at  the  foot  of  the  three  columns  of  the 
Castores.  In  181 S  Carlo  Fea  found  water  all  around  the  temple, 
to  the  depth  of  8.84  metres  under  the  pavement  of  the  Vicus 
Tuscus.  I  remember  myself  having  seen  the  same  place  suddenly 
inundated  in  January,  1871,  when  the  excavations  had  come 
1  Plutarch,  Curiol.,  3;  Dionysius,  vi.  l-'i,  etc. 


THE    CLIVUS    VICTORI.i:  125 

accidentally  in  contact  with  one  of  the  underground  channels. 
The  works  were  suspended  for  a  week  or  tW'O,  until  the  waters 
were  given  an  outlet  towards  the  Cloaca  Maxima. 

References.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  Ins!.,  1871,  p.  279;  and  /  comen- 
tarii  di  Frontino  intorno  le  acque  e  yli  acquedottl.  Rome,  1880,  p.  13.  — 
Giuseppe  Tommasetti,  Bull.  Inst.,  1871,  p.  137.  — Francis  Nichols,  The  Roman 
Forum,  p.  74,  Loudon,  1877. 

VI.  The  Clivus  Victoria.  —  The  Porta  Romanula,  or  "  river 
gate  "  of  the  Palatine,  could  be  approached  from  two  sides  :  f i-om 
the  Forum  by  a  short  cut,  or  steps,  used  by  women  in  bringing 
lip  their  load  of  water  from  the  pool  of  Juturna ;  and  from  the 
Velabrum,  by  a  carriage-road  cut  along  the  base  of  the  cliff  at  a 
steep  incline.  The  road  is  marked  (IV)  in  the  fragment  of  the 
marble  plan.  Fig.  47.  It  was  named  from  an  altar  of  Victory 
dating  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  city,  and  transformed  into  a 
temple  293  b.  c,  by  the  consul  Lucius  Postumius.  On  April  4, 203, 
the  meteoric  stone  from  Pessinus,  which  the  Romans  called  the 
Great  Mother  of  the  Gods,  was  deposited  in  this  sanctuary,  pend- 
ing the  erection  of  the  temple  described  in  §  xiii.  Eleven  years 
later  Cato  the  Censor  dedicated  a  shrine  Victorke  Virgini,  by  the 
side  of  the  temple,  and  this  is  the  last  mention  we  find  of  it  in 
the  classics.  The  temple  was  discovered  by  Bianchini  in  1728,  on 
the  edge  of  the  hill  above  the  road,  inside  a  court  or  refievos,  be- 
tween the  palaces  of  Tiberius  and  Caligula.  There  were  splendid 
fragments  of  its  marlile  decorations :  a  frieze  ornamented  with 
the  emblems  of  a  naval  victory  ;  columns  of  giallo  belonging  to 
the  peristyle,  capitals,  bases,  the  pedestal  of  a  statue  (the  same 
one,  probably,  dedicated  by  Cato  the  Censor  in  192)  ;  and  two 
pieces  of  the  inscription  of  the  temple  itself,  which  commemorate 
a  restoration  by  Augustus  :  — 

imp  .  CAESAR  .  dIvI  .  F  .  aedein  .  r/cTORiAe  .  refec. 

These  fragments  were  kept  for  a  long  time  on  the  spot,  near  the 
Uccelliera ;  in  183(3,  however,  they  were  dispersed:  a  few  went 
to  the  Museo  Xazionale,  Xaples  ;  others  to  the  Palazzo  Farnese, 
Rome. 

On  ascending  the  Clivus  Victoriag  from  S.  Teodoro  towards  the 
Porta  Romanula,  we  pass  on  the  right  the  remains  of  thirteen 
rooms,  the  w-alls  of  which  were  of  opus  qundratum,  strengthened 
at  a  later  period  with  opus  laterltitim.  These  remains,  dating 
from  the  last  century  of  the  Republic,  are  attributed  to  the  Porti- 


126       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE  PALATINE 

cus  Catuli.     No  trace  is  left  of  the  private  palaces  of  Catulus, 
Scaurus,  Clodius,  Cicero,  etc.,  described  in  §  ii. 

References.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  II  temino  della  Vittoria  (in  Bull.  arch, 
com.,  1883,  p.  206).  — Christian  Huelsen,  MittheiL,  1895,  pp.  23,  269. 

VII.  The  Church  of  S.  Teodoro.  —  This  round  structure 
belongs  to  the  cycle  of  Byzantine  cliurches  and  chapels  by  which 
the  Palatine  was  surrounded  after  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  and  is 
dedicated  to  an  officer  who  suffered  martyrdom  at  Amasea  in  the 
Fontus  during  the  persecution  of  Maximian.  The  present  rotunda 
dates  from  the  time  of  Nicholas  V.  (1447-55),  except  the  apse 
and  its  mosaics,  which  seem  to  belong  to  the  time  of  Hadrian  I. 
(772-795).  The  level  of  the  church,  halfway  between  that  of  the 
Vicus  Tuscus  and  that  of  the  modern  road,  shows  how  rapid  has 
been  the  rise  of  the  soil  in  the  last  four  centuries.  The  pieces  of 
serpentine  with  which  part  of  the  court  is  paved  M^ere  discovered 
at  the  time  of  Clement  XI.  in  the  marble  wharf  of  the  Emporium 
at  La  Marmorata. 

VTTI.  MuRUS  RoMULi.  —  These  venerable  remains  of  the 
primitive  fortifications,  which  we  meet  with  on  turning  the  west 
corner  of  the  hill  towards  S.  Anastasia,  are  built  of  blocks  of 
local  tufa,  the  work  of  Etruscan  masons,  as  is  shown  by  the  way 
the  stones  are  placed,  lengthwise  in  one  tier  and  crosswise  in  the 
next  above.  The  tufa  of  the  walls  is  characteristic  of  all  works 
done  in  Rome  before  Servius  Tullius,  such  as  the  fortifications  of 
the  Arx  in  the  garden  of  the  Aracoeli,  and  can  easily  be  identified 
by  means  of  the  black  scoriaj  which  it  contains,  the  texture  and 
softness  of  which  resembles  that  of  charred  wood.  This  special 
tufa,  hardly  fit  for  building  purposes,  was  quarried  on  the  spot 
from  the  lautumke  near  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Propugnator. 
Other  quarries  have  been  discovered  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Capi- 
toline  hill  and  at  Fidenaj  (Villa  Spada,  Via  Salaria). 

The  walls  of  the  Palatine  were  discovered  on  January  26,  1847, 
but  the  government  commissioners,  Visconti,  Canina,  and  Grifi, 
did  not  at  once  realize  the  importance  of  the  find.  They  call 
them  in  their  official  report  "  a  monument  built  of  large  blocks  of 
tufa,  forming  two  wings  20  palms  long,  with  an  arch  cut  in  the 
live  rock  between  them."  The  walls  are  visible  at  two  other 
points,  near  the  gardener's  house  and  near  the  so-called  Domus 
Gelotiana.  Students  wishing  to  get  more  information  about 
these  early  fortifications  of  the  Palatine  may  consult  — 


THE   ALTAR    OF  AIUS   LOCUTIUS  127 

Thomas  Dyer,  HUtvi  >j  of  the  City  of  Rome,  Loudon,  1865,  p.  14.  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Sulle  mura  t  parte  di  Sevvio  (in  Ann.  Inst.,  1871,  p.  41).  —  Visconti 
and  Lanciani,  Guida  del  Palatino,  Rome,  1873-93,  p.  73.  —  Heinrich  Jordan, 
Topographle,  vol.  i.  p.  17-2.  — Otto  Richter,  Ann.  Inst.,  1884,  p.  189. 

Behind  the  wall  and  under  the  northwest  corner  of  the  hill 
there  is  a  reservoir  of  water,  a  rough  design  of  which  is  given  by 
:Middleton.  Formerly  it  was  deep  under  ground,  the  water  being 
drawn  from  above  by  means  of  a  well  of  conical  shape  ;  but  a  land- 
slip having  carried  away  a  portion  of  the  cliff  behind  the  wall, 
the  reservoir  can  now  be  entered  on  a  level.  There  is  a  basin  or 
cavity  right  under  the  well  towards  which  slope  all  the  galleries 
of  the  cistern,  so  as  to  allow  the  besieged  to  draw  the  last  di'op  iu 
case  of  water-famine. 

IX.  The  Altar  of  Aius  Locutius.  —  This  remarkable  altar 
was  fir.st  noticed  by  Nibby  in  1838,  on  the  spot  where  we  see  it 
standing  now,  on  absolutely  modern  ground,  thirty  feet  at  least 
above  the  ancient  level ;  but,  although  not  in  .^itu,  it  must  have 
been  found  not  very  far  off.  Xibby  and  Mommsen  consider  it  as  a 
restoration  made  in  125  b.  c.  of  the  one  raised  in  the  Infima  Xova 
Via  —  in  the  "lower  new  street  "  — behind  the  Temple  of  Vesta, 
in  memory  of  the  mysterious  voice  which,  in  the  stillness  of  night, 
warned  the  citizens  of  the  approach  of  the  Gauls.  The  voice  was 
attributed  to  a  local  genius,  whom  the  people  named  Aius  Loquens 
or  Locutius ;  but,  as  Roman  religion  refrained  from  mentioning 
in  public  prayers  the  name  and  sex  of  unknown  local  genii,  lest 
the  ceremonies  should  be  vitiated  by  a  false  invocation,  or  else 
the  true  ifame  of  these  tutelary  gods  should  be  made  known  to  the 
enemies  of  the  commonwealth,  so  the  altar  raised  in  memory  of 
the  event  bears  the  vague  dedication  — 

SEI  •  DEO  •  SEI  •  DEIVAE  ■  SAC(rum)  — 

"sacred  to  a  Divinity,  whether  male  or  female."  Servius  de- 
scribes likewise  a  shield  dedicated  on  the  Capitol  to  the  Genius 
of  Rome  with  the  legend  — 

GEXIO    VRBIS    ROMAE    SIVE    MAS    SIVE    FEMIXA. 

The  altar  of  Locutius  was  i-estored  by  Caius  Sextius  Calvinvis, 
mentioned  twice  by  Cicero  as  a  candidate  for  the  praetorship 
against  Glaucias  in  125  b.  c.  The  monument  cannot  fail  to  im- 
press the  student  on  account  of  its  connection  with  one  of  the 
leading  events  in  history,  the  capture  and  burning  of  Rome  by 
the  Gauls  in  ;390  b.  c. 


128       THE   RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF  THE  PALATINE 

Keferences.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Analisi  .  .  .  del  dlntorni  di  Roma,  vol.  i. 
p.  321. —  Corpus  Inscr.  Lat.,  vol.  i.  n.  632,  p.  185. — Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,  p.  72. —  Carlo  Pascal,  Bull,  com.,  1894,  p.  188. 


The  corner  of  the  hill  above  the  Munis  Romuli,  towards  which 
we  are  now  ascending  by  a  winding  path  shaded  by  ilexes,  contains 


THE   STEPS    OF   CACUS  129 

monuments  dating  from  the  early  days  of  the  city.  I  have  said 
already  that  the  Palatine  was  divided  into  two  summits,  the  "  hill 
of  the  Twins,"  or  Cermalus,  on  the  north  ;  the  "  hill  of  Pales,"  or 
Palatium,  on  the  south.  This  last  is  entirely  covered  by  Imperial 
buildings,  which  have  swept  away  or  concealed  whatever  monu- 
ments there  were  left  of  the  Kingly  and  Republican  ages,  while 
on  the  Cermalus  the  later  constructions  have  avoided  the  ground 
made  sacred  by  tradition  or  by  existing  remains  of  bygone  days. 
This  historic  space  overlooking  the  Velabrum,  left  free  by  the 
Cffisars,  measures  175  metres  in  length,  and  106  metres  in  depth, 
and  contains  the  steps  of  Cacus,  the  hut  of  Romulus,  the  old  stone 
quarries,  the  Temple  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods,  and  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter  Propugnator.  A  section  of  the  space  is  re- 
presented in  Fig.  49  (on  the  opposite  page).  The  background  is 
formed  by  the  arched  substructures  of  the  palace  of  Tiberius,  the 
foreground  by  the  steps  of  the  Temple  of  Cybele,  and  by  the 
foundations  of  the  fifth  chapel  of  the  Argsei,  which  Yarro  places 
apiul  (edem  Romuli.  The  space  is  strewn  with  architectural  frag- 
ments from  the  temple  of  Cybele. 

X.  ScAL^.  Caci  (Steps  of  Cacus).  —  We  have  seen  before  that 
the  Palatine  city  could  be  entered  from  three  sides  :  through  the 
Porta  Romanula  from  the  northwest,  by  the  Mugonia  from  the 
nortlieast,  and  hy  the  Steps  of  Cacus  from  the  side  of  the  Circus. 
At  a  very  early  date  these  steps  took  the  place  of  a  dangerous 
path  connecting  the  primitive  village  with  the  spring  and  cave  of 
Faun  Lujaercus.^  They  are  called  fiaOfiovs  Ka\rjs  aKTrjs  ("  the  steps 
of  the  beautiful  shoi'e  ")  by  Plutarch,  and  Scahv  Caci  by  Solinus. 
The  first  name  owes  its  origin  to  the  picturesque  inlet  formed  by 
the  waters  of  the  greater  Velabrum  near  the  Lupei'cal ;  the  other 

1  The  I^iipercal  opened  at  the  fodt  of  the  cliffs  hetween  the  Velabniiii  and 
the  Circus  iMaximiis  in  the  direction  of  S.  Anastasia.  Its  entrance  was  once 
shaded  by  the  Ficiis  Riiniinalis,  markinir  the  spot  where  tlie  cradle  containing? 
the  infant  twins  had  been  washed  asiiore  by  the  flood.  The  meniorj'  of  the 
miracnlons  event  was  perpetuated  by  a  bronze  group  of  Tuscan  workmanship, 
representing  the  twins  nursed  by  the  wolf.  This  is  probably  the  same  as  the 
one  preserved  in  the  Conservator!  Palace  and  restored  b}'  Guglielmo  della 
Porta  (?),  The  Lupercal  was  discovered  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
turj'.  Ulisse  Aldovrandi,  quoted  by  Fea  (AfisrelL,  i.  206,  n.  4),  says;  "There 
was  a  tenii)le  of  Neptune  (of  Faun  Lupercus)  built  by  the  Arcadians  near  the 
('ircus  Maxinuis,  an<l  I  itelieve  it  to  be  the  same  chapel  discovered  lateh' 
under  the  cliffs  of  the  Palatine,  near  S.  Anastasia,  all  encrusted  with  marine 
shells." 


130       THE   RUINS   AND   EXCAVATIONS   OF   THE   PALATINE 

to  the  hilt  of  a  certain  Cacus,  a  friend  of  Hercules,  who  lived  near 
the  Ara  Maxima,  on  the  shore  of  the  same  pool.  The  Scalse  were 
shaded  by  the  sacred  cornelian  tree,  believed  to  be  the  spear  of 
Romulus,  which,  being  thrown  by  the  hero  from  the  opposite 
heights  of  the  Aventine,  had  struck  the  ground  with  such  force 
as  to  take  root  and  grow  up  again  into  a  beautiful  tree. 

Two  historical  events  are  connected  with  the  steps.  First, 
their  restoration  by  Caligula,  in  consequence  of  which  the  roots  of 
the  cornelian  tree  were  cut  off  and  the  tree  was  killed ;  secondly, 
the  escape  of  Vitellius  in  December,  69,  when,  after  the  capture  of 
the  city  by  the  generals  of  Vespasian,  he  fled  "  per  aversam  partem 
Palatii "  to  the  Aventine.  The  steps  have  nearly  all  disappeared, 
but  the  walls  of  opus  quadratum,  hy  which  they  were  inclosed,  and 
the  pavement  of  the  upper  landing  are  tolerably  well  preserved. 
There  was  a  gate  at  the  top  of  the  ascent,  the  site  of  which  is 
marked  l)y  travertine  jambs. 

Refekences.  —  Liidwig  Preller,  Die  Regionen,  p.  152.  —  Karl  Bethmann, 
Btdl.  Inst.,  ]852,  p.  40.  —  Ampere,  Histoire  romainc  a  Rome,  vol.  i.  p.  292. — 
Wecklein,  Hermes,  vol.  vi.  p.  193.— Otto  Richter,  Annali  Inst.,  1884,  p.  189. 
—  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  ii.  018,  p.  459. 

XI.  Casa  Romuli  (the  hut  of  Romulus).  —  Tradition  tells  us 
that  at  the  top  of  the  steps  just  described  there  was  the  hut  of 
Faustulus  the  shepherd,  in  which  Romulus  and  Remus  had  found 
shelter  and  food  and  received  their  early  education.  History 
shows  that  down  to  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  after  Christ 
the  hut  had  been  preserved  in  its  primitive  shape  by  the  periodi- 
cal renewal  of  its  thatched  roof  and  wooden  framework.  The 
foundations  of  this  "  memorial  "  are  still  in  existence.  They  are 
made  of  blocks  of  yellowish  granular  tufa,  and  form  a  parallelo- 
gram ;30  feet  long  and  17  feet  wide.  When  discovered  in  1872, 
the  parallelogram  was  perfect,  but  the  quality  of  the  tufa  is  so 
soft,  and  the  blocks  are  so  easily  disintegrated  by  atmospheric 
agencies,  that  it  will  soon  disappear,  unless  protected  by  a  roof. 
The  cut  (Fig.  50)  represents  a  prehistoric  hut,  modeled  from  nature 
by  an  Alban  shepherd,  about  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  Rome. 
It  was  discovered  in  the  necropolis  of  Alba  Longa  by  Carnevali  in 
1817,  and  it  is  now  owned  by  Michele  de  Rossi. 

We  might  consider  this  clay  hut-urn  ^  as  a  perfect  model  uot 

1  References.  —  Michele-Stefano  de  Rossi,  Annali  Inst.,  1871,  p.  242, 
tav.  v.  —  Pigorini  and  Lubbock,  Notes  on  Hut-urns,  p.  11.  —  Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciani,  Ancient  Rome,  chap.  i. 


THE    HUT    OF   ROM CL  ITS 


131 


only  of  the  Casa  Romiili  (also  called  Tiigurium  Faustuli),  but 
also  of  the  other  Casa  Romuli  on  the  Capitol,  sacred  to  his  memory 
as  a  hero  and  demi-god,  of  the  focus  of  Vesta,  of  the  chapels  of 
the  ArgiBi,  and  other  such  prehistoric  dwellings,  which  are  all 
described  as  vimine  texti,  stlpula  tecti,  and  made  de  carina  stramini- 
husque.  Their  type  was  never  forgotten  :  in  the  inscriptions  of 
Leila  Marnia  in  Africa  a  tomb  in  the  sliape  of  a  casa  or  lugurium 
is  called  "  Domus  liomula."     (See  Corpus,  viii.  p.  112o.) 


Fig.  50.  —  Hut-urn  from  Alba  Longa. 


The  foundations  of  the  Casa  Romuli  are  surrounded  by  other 
remains  of  the  Kingly  period  which  cannot  be  identified.  There 
is  a  square  mass  of  stones,  with  a  gutter  around  the  base,  which 
may  possibly  mark  the  site  of  the  fifth  sacrarium  of  the  Arg?ei. 
(See  Fig.  49.) 

References.  —  Scheidewin,  P/((7o/o(7?<.«,  vol.  i.  p.  82. — Liidwig  Preller,  Die 
Rerjlonen,  p.  180.  —  Francesco  Cipolla,  Rlristct  di  Filolor/ia,  1878,  p.  47.  —  Hein- 
rich  .Jordan,  Hermes,  vii.  p.  190;  and  Topographie,  i.  p.  292.  —  Theodor 
Mommsen,  Hermes,  xiii.  p.  ."i27.  —  (iio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Pirinte,  di  Rnmn, 
p.  4.  —Otto  Richter,  Topofiraphie,  p.  100.  —  Notizie  deyli  Scavi,  1896,  p.  291. 

XII.     The  Old  Stoxe  Quakkies. —  An  underground  passage 


132       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF   THE  PALATINE 

between  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Propugnator  and  the  Palace  of 
Domitian,  which  can  be  entered  by  a  slope  under  the  coffee-house 
of  the  Farnese  Gardens,  gives  access  to  a  network  of  tufa  quarries 
extending  over  an  acre.  They  cannot  be  explored  now  on  account 
of  their  dangerous  state,  but  I  remember  going  over  them  in  every 
direction  when  they  were  first  discovered  in  1867.  The  section 
which  runs  under  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  is  comparatively  recent, 
and  must  have  been  excavated  by  a  vignaiuolo  before  the  laying 
out  of  the  Farnese  Gardens,  or  when  these  were  again  put  under 
cultivation  in  the  first  half  of  the  last  century.  The  section  ap- 
proaching the  house  of  Germanicus  and  Tiberius  is  very  ancient, 
perhaps  contemporary  with  the  first  colonization  of  the  hill.  There 
is  something  impressive  and  solemn  in  the  aspect  of  these  old 
lautumice,  which  at  a  later  period  were  turned  into  a  water-tank. 
There  were  several  wells  communicating  with  the  ground  above, 
but  only  one  is  kept  open,  at  the  turn  of  the  street  called  (prob- 
ably) "  Victoria  Germaniciana."  The  puteal  or  mouth  of  the  well 
is  of  modern  restoration ;  the  shaft  is  ancient  and  lined  with  slabs 
of  Alban  stone,  with  holes  to  make  the  descent  into  the  reservoir 
easy.  A  conical  heap  of  terra-cotta  ex-votos  was  found  at  the 
bottom  of  this  well.  This  find  reminded  us  at  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  Frontinus  :  "  In  the  present  abundance  of  water  (brought 
to  Rome  by  eleven  aqueducts)  we  have  not  forgotten  the  historical 
springs  from  which  drank  our  foi'efathers  "  (fontium  memoria  cum 
sanctitate  adhuc  extat  et  colitur).  Suetonius  says  that  under  Au- 
gustus all  classes  of  citizens  (omnes  ordines)  threw  ex-votos  into  the 
well  of  Juturna.  The  Fontinalia,  or  Feast  of  Springs,  was  cele- 
brated in  Rome  on  October  13th.  (Another  well  was  found  July 
10,  1896.) 

There  are  in  this  public  space  of  ground  two  more  monuments, 
independent  of  the  Palace  of  the  Cpesars,  which,  although  raised 
long  after  the  Kingly  period,  must  be  described  before  we  enter  the 
Imperial  grounds,  —  the  Temple  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods, 
and  that  of  Jupiter  Propugnator. 

XIII.  ^Edes  Magx.e  Deum  Matris  (Temple  of  Cybele).  — 
Livy  (xxxvi.  35)  relates  that  during  the  second  Punic  war  in  206 
B.  c.  an  embassy  was  sent  by  the  senate  to  Pessinus,  after  consult- 
ing the  Sibylline  books,  which  brought  back  to  Rome  a  famous 
relic,  called  (by  Servius,  Mn.  vii.  188)  the  acux  Matris  Deum. 
This  was  a  small  meteoric  stone  of  siliceous  texture,  brown  in 
color,  pyramidal  in  shape,  set,  instead  of   the  face,  in   a   silver 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CYBELE  loo 

statue  of  Cybele.  Great  was  the  veneration  of  tlie  Romans  for 
this  image,  and  a  temple  was  raised  in  its  honor  in  192  b.  c, 
rebuilt  by  Augustus  in  A.  d.  3,  after  a  fire.  The  phrase  "  ajdem 
Matris  Magna;  in  Palatio  feci,''  which  Augustus  uses  in  his  auto- 
biograj^hy,  has  been  interpreted  as  if  tlie  temjale  was  in  the  oppo- 
site part  of  the  hill  called  strictly  "  Palatium,"  but  we  must  remem- 
ber that  the  autobiography  was  written  long  after  the  name  had 
been  assigned  to  tlie  w'hole  tenth  region.  i 

The  most  noticeable  event  in  the  laistory  of  the  sanctuary  is  the 
sacrilege  committed  by  Heliogabalus,  who  removed  to  his  own 
private  chapel  the  great  object  of  popular  worship.  (See  Ancient 
Rome,  p.  127.)  The  description  which  Ilerodianus  gives  of  it  is 
identical  with  that  of  Servius.  "  The  stone,"  he  says,  "  is  large, 
shaped  as  a  cone,  and  black  in  color.  People  think  it  a  stone 
fallen  from  heaven,"  etc.  When  Bianchini  excavated  in  1725-30  the 
imperi^;!  chapel  or  lararium,  he  found  "  a  stone  nearly  thi'ee  feet 
high,  conical  in  shape,  of  a  deep  brown  color,  like  a  piece  pf  lava, 
and  ending  in  a  sharp  point."  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  >vas  the 
celebrated  "  needle  of  Cybele."     No  attention  was  paid  to  the  find. 

The  last  mention  we  have  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods 
belongs  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  wlien  Nicomachus  Fla- 
vianus  and  a  few  surviving  champions  of  polytheism  tried  to  stir 
up  the  old  popular  superstitions.  During  the  revolution  against' 
Theodosius  II.,  which  ended  witli  the  defeat  of  Eugeuius,  Septem- 
ber 7  to  9,  392,  Nicomachus  and  his  followers  indulged  in  the 
most  faruitic  display  of  long-forgotten  pagan  superstitions,  like  the 
Isia,  the  Floralia,  the  Lustrum,  and  the  Megalesia,  the  mysterious 
worship  of  Cybele.  After  being  baptized  in  blood,  they  carried 
through  the  main  streets  of  the  city  the  chariot  of  the  goddess 
with  lions  of  solid  silver. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  the  temple,  the  scattered  remains  of 
which  appear  in  Fig.  49,  belongs  to  the  Great  INlother  of  the  Gods, 
because  its  columns  and  entablature  are  of  Alban  stone  (peperino) 
coated  with  stucco,  and  therefore  cannot  presumably  be  the  work 
of  Augustus,  who  used  only  marble.  I  do  not  dare  to  express  any 
definite  opinion  on  the  subject,  because  thei'e  are  other  circum- 
stances in  favor  of  the  supposition  which  must  be  taken  into 
consideration.  The  first  is  the  discovery  made  in  January,  1872, 
near  the  pronaos  of  the  temple,  of  a  semi-colossal  statue  of  the 
goddess  (Fig.  .il,  p.  134).  The  statue  is  headless,  but  has  been 
identified  by  means  of  the  suppedaneum  or  footstool  which  the  an- 
cients gave  to  Cybele  as  a  symbol  of  the  stability  of  the  earth. 


134       THE   RUINS   AND    EXCAVATIONS   OF   THE  PALATINE 

The  second  is  the  discovery  of  several  altars  inscribed  with  her 
name,  made  at  various  times  in  this  part  of  the  Farnese  Gardens. 
The  one  marked  No.  496  in  vol.  vi.  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscriptionum  " 
was  raised  at  the  expense  of  three  attendants  of  the  temple,  named 


Fig.  51.  -Headless  Statue  of  Cybele,  found  near  her  temple  on  the  Palatine. 

Onesimus,  Olympias,  and  Briseis.  A  second,  No.  3702,  came  to 
light  in  1873  near  the  south  wall  of  the  temple.  See  also  the  in- 
scription. No.  .513,  belonging  to  a  statue  offered  to  the  g-oddess 
by  Virius  Marcarianus,  and  the  fragment  in  "  Notizie  degli  Scavi, 

1896,  p.  186.  .^  ^         ^  , - 

There  are  about  sixty  fragments  of  columns,  capitals,  entabia- 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   CYBELE  135 

tuiv,  and  pediment  lying  scattered  in  confusion,  which,  if  properly 
put  together  in  their  former  jiosition,  as  Huelsen  has  done  in 
design  (INlittheilungen,  1895,  pp.  10-22),  would  make  this  temple 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  ruins  of  the  Palatine.  The  foundation- 
walls  of  the  cella  and  pronaos  are  still  intact.  The  statue  itself  is 
lying  aside,  in  a  slanting  position. 

There  is  a  valuable  marble  in  the  Capitoline  museum  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  temple,  viz.,  an  altar  with  bas-reliefs  repre- 
senting the  ship  on  which  the  goddess  came  from  Pessinus  to 
Rome,  and  the  Vestal  Claudia  Quinta  hauling  it  up  the  Tiber, 
with  her  infula  tied  to  the  prow.  There  is  written  underneath  : 
"  Matri  Deum  et  Xavi-Salvife  voto  suscepto,  Claudia  Synthyche 
d(ono)  d(edit)."  Maffei  and  Preller  think  that  the  surname  of 
Navisalvia  was  given  to  the  "\'estal  Claudia  because  she  had 
brought  the  ship  safely  to  her  moorings ;  Orelli  and  ^Nlommsen 
attribute  it  to  the  ship  herself  (Navis  Salvia),  or  rather  to  her  pro- 
tecting genius  (see  Corpus,  n.  495).  The  altar  can  be  seen  in  the 
gallery  of  the  Capitoline  museum,  where  it  is  used  as  a  pedestal  to 
the  statue  No.  25  (Jupiter  found  at  Antium). 

Greek  and  Greco-Roman  artists  have  always  given  Cybele  a 
type  of  majestic  beauty.  One  of  the  finest  representations  of  the 
merciful  goddess,  "  who  gave  f ruitf ulness  alike  to  men  and  beasts 
and  vegetation,"  was  discovered  not  long  ago  at  FormitB  (Mola  di 
Gaeta),  together  with  the  reiiuiins  of  her  temple  of  the  Ionic 
order.  The  statue,  which  would  have  formed  the  pride  of  the 
Naples  museum,  has  been  allowed  to  migrate  to  foreign  lands. 
When  I  stood  before  her  the  first  time,  and  felt  the  influence  of 
her  wonderfid  beauty,  I  easily  understood  why  she  remained  a 
favorite  deity  to  the  very  end  of  pagan  worship  in  Rome.  I  am 
sure  it  will  please  my  readers  to  become  acquainted  with  this  won- 
derful work  of  art  known  only  to  a  privileged  few  (Fig.  52,  p.  18f)). 

Rkkerences.  —  Francesco  Caiicellieri,  Le  setfe  cose  J'atali,  Rome,  1812, 
p.  22.  —  Visconti  and  Lanciani,  Guida  del  Palatino,  Rome,  1873,  pp.  29,  134.  — 
Theodor  Mommsen,  lies  gestae  divi  Aufjusti,  2d  ed.  1883,  p.  82.  —  Christian 
Huelsen,  llntersuckunf/en  zur  Topographie  des  Palatins  (in  IMittlieilimgen, 
1895,  p.  3).  —  Ancient  Rome,  p.  126. 

XIV.  ^Ede8  Iovis  Propugnatokis  IX  Palatio  (Temple  of 
Jupiter  Propugnator).  —  Between  the  house  of  Germanicus  and 
the  Nympha^um  of  the  house  of  Domitian  stands  the  platform  of 
a  temple,  the  mass  of  which  is  built  of  concrete  with  chips  of  tufa 
and  silex,  inclosed  in  a  frame  of  opus  quadratum.     The  temple, 


136       THE   RUJNS   AND    EXCAVATIONS   OF   THE  PALATINE 

which  is  44  metres  long,  and  25  wide,  faces  the  southwest,  but  not 
a  fragment  of  its  decorations  has  escaped  the  cinquecento  lime- 


Fig.  52.  —  The  Cybele  from  Formise. 

burners.  Probably  it  was  octostyle  peripteral,  viz.  surrounded  by 
a  colonnade  which  had  8  shafts  in  the  front,  16  on  the  sides. 
Rosa,  who  discovered  the  platform  in  1867,  identifies  it  with  the 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   JUPITER   PROPUGNATOR  137 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Victor,  a  lueniorial  buildiug  of  the  victory 
gained  by  the  Romans  over  the  Samnites  in  29-1  b.  c.  We  prefer 
to  see  in  it  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Propngnator,  connected  with 
the  residence  (schola  colleyli)  of  a  priesthood  ranking  in  nobility 
with  that  of  the  Qiiindecemviri,  of  the  Arvales,  and  other  kin- 
dred religious  corporations,  of  which  the  Emperor  was  a  ile  iure 
member.  The  remains  of  a  building  in  opus  quadratum  of  the 
late  Republic,  remarkably  suited  for  the  use  of  a  scJiola,  have 
actually  been  discovered  side  by  side  with  the  teniijle  itself. 

Many  fragments  of  the  fasti  cooptationum,  or  registers  of  the 
elections  to  this  priesthood,  have  been  found,  not  in  .situ,  however, 
but  employed,  after  the  prohibition  of  pagan  worship,  in  the 
restoration  of  the  pavements  of  the  Basilica  Julia  and  of  the 
Senate-house.  (See  Corpus,  n.  2004,  2009,  etc.)  They  are  all 
worded  this  way  :  "  In  the  year  nine  hundred  and  forty-two  of 
Rome,"  (a.  d.  190)  for  instance,  "under  the  consulships  of  the 
Emperor  Commodus,  for  the  sixth  time,  and  of  Petronius  Septimi- 
anus,  on  the  1.5tli  day  of  October,  in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Pro- 
pngnator on  the  Palatine,  Lucius  Attidius  Cornelianus  has  been 
elected."  Sometimes  they  add  the  name  of  the  deceased  member 
whose  place  was  vacant :  •'  Claudius  Paternus  cooptatus  in  locum 
Attidi  Corneliani  vita  functi  "  (a.  d.  198). 

On  the  top  of  the  steps  of  the  temple  there  is  a  fragment  of 
an  altar  inscribed  with  the  words,  "  Domitius  Calvinus,  son  of 
Marcus,  high  priest,  consul  for  the  second  time  and  [victorious] 
general  [has  built  or  repaired  or  ornamented  this  building,  or 
raised  this  monument]  with  the  spoils  of  war."  (See  Ephemeris 
epigraphica,  1^72,  p.  21").) 

Cneus  Domitius  Calvinus,  consul  in  .53  and  40  B.  c,  is  the 
gallant  general  of  Julius  Ca'sar  who  led  the  centre  at  the  battle 
of  Pharsalos.  Later  he  cari-ied  on  a  successful  campaign  in  Spain, 
for  which  he  was  rewarded  with  the  triumph  in  86  b.  c.  With 
the  spoils  of  war  —  aurum  cornnarium  —  he  restored  the  Regia  by 
the  house  of  the  Vestals,  as  related  by  Dion  Cassius  (xlviii.  42). 
The  altar,  tlierefore,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Propugnator,  having  been  found  in  January,  1868,  at  some  distance 
from  it,  in  the  excavations  of  the  Forum  Palatinum.  It  ought  to 
be  put  back  in  its  place  by  the  Regia.  The  four  pieces  of  fluted 
stone  columns  placed  by  Rosa  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  belong  like- 
wise to  another  edifice,  perhaps  to  the  Temple  of  Cybele.  Pirro 
Ligorio  pretends  to  have  seen  a  fragment  of  the  colossal  statue  of 
the  god,  measuring  eight  feet  from  shoulder  to  shoulder.     It  was 


138       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF   THE  PALATINE 

sold  by  Cristoforo  Stati  to  a  stone-cutter  named  Leonardo  Cieco 
"  per  fame  opere  moderne."  His  statement  (Bodleian  MSS.  p.  138) 
deserves  no  credit. 

Ekferences. —  Corpus  Inscr.  Lat.,  vol.  vi.  p.  450,  n.  2004-2009.  —  Adolf 
Becker,  Topograpkie,  p.  422.  —  Ludwig  Preller,  Rum.  Mythologie,  p.  177. 

XV.  DoMus  Augustan  A  (house  of  Augustus).  —  An  irregular 
opening  made  in  March,  1893,  through  the  left  wall  of  the  Stadium 
(Fig.  53,  BB.)  leads  —  for  the  time  being  —  into  the  house  of 
Augustus.  This  newly  cut  passage  seems  to  be  calculated  to 
mislead  the  visitor  at  once :  it  occupies  the  site  of  a  staircase 
connecting  the  two  floors  of  the  house,  the  remains  of  which  were 
likewise  obliterated  in  1893,  leaving  only  the  marks  of  the  steps 
against  the  side  walls.  The  following  plan  (Fig.  .53),  although 
defective  in  two  or  three  points,  which  cannot  be  made  good  unless 
the  excavations  are  completed,  will  enable  the  visitor  to  find  his 
way  without  difficulty. 

The  Palatine  hill,  so  near  the  Forum  and  the  Capitol,  the  cen- 
tres of  Roman  political  and  business  life,  had  always  been  the 
favorite  place  of  residence  with  statesmen,  eminent  lawyers,  and 
orators,  and  wealthy  citizens  in  general.  Augustus  made  it  the 
seat  of  the  Empire.  Born  near  the  east  corner  of  the  hill,  in 
the  lane  named  "  ad  capita  bubula,"  ^  he  selected  it  again  as  the 
Imperial  residence,  after  the  victory  of  Actium,  which  had  made 
him  master  of  the  world.  The  ambitious  plan  was  not  carried 
into  execution  at  once.  He  began,  44  b.  c,  by  j^urchasing  the 
modest  house  of  Hortensius  the  orator,  the  columns  and  pavements 
of  which  were  of  common  stone.  After  the  conquest  of  Egypt  in 
28,  he  bought  other  property,  including  the  house  of  Catilina. 
The  Imperial  residence  was  then  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale  and  in 
more  becoming  style,  the  whole  estate  being  divided  into  three 
sections.  The  first,  from  the  side  of  the  Velia,  was  occupied  by 
the  Propylaia,  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  the  Portico  of  the  Danaids, 
and  the  Greek  and  Latin  libraries ,  the  middle  section  by  the 
Shrine  of  Vesta ;  the  last,  on  the  side  of  the  Circus,  by  the  Im- 
perial house.2     This  magnificent  set  of   buildings  was  crowded 

1  "Ox-heads."  The  tomb  of  Metella  is  actually  called  "  Capo-di-Bove  " 
from  the  ox-skiills  of  its  frieze.  The  lane  where  Augustus  was  born  was  close 
to  the  "street  of  the  old  Curife,"  ad  Curias  veteres. 

•2  "  Phoebus  habet  partem:  Vests  pars  altera  cessit  —  quod  superest  illis,  ter- 
tius  ipse  tenet  "  (Ovid,  Frmf.,  iv.  951).  References  for  the  Temple  of  Apollo, 
and  the  Portico  of  the  Danaids:  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  II  tempio  di  ApnlUni-  palatino 
(in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  vol.  xi.  ]SS;i,  p.  185,  pi.  17);  and  Ancient  Rome,  p.  109. — 
Christian  Huelsen,  Miltheiluiifjcn,  1888,  p.  296;  and  1895,  p.  28. 


THE    HOUSE    OF  AUGUSTUS 


139 


with  the  masterpieces  of  Greek,  Tuscan,  and  Roman  art,  as  mi- 
nutely described  in  '•  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  109.  The  building  of 
a  shrine  of  Vesta  near  the  house  was  a  necessity  of  state,  since 
Aus'ustus  had  been  elected  iiontifex  maximus  after  the  death  of 


CONVENT  OF  VISITATION 


I    IkH    Mril    il 

o  o  oooeoo  e  qqooooo 


COURT 


ooooooooo   ooooooo 


■—1    r"-TT?^r~T 

o 
,    °    °  PULVINAR 


Fig.  53.  —  I'lau  of  the  Doimis  Aiigii.stana,  Ground  Floor. 


140       THE    RUINS   AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF   THE  PALATINE 

^milius  Lepidus  in  12  u.  c.  On  this  occasion  the  old  pontifical 
palace  was  presented  to  the  Vestals,  to  increase  the  accommodation 
provided  by  theii-  own. 

The  Domus  Augustana  was  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  Nero,  with 
the  exception  of  the  room  in  which  the  founder  of  the  Empire  had 
slept  for  forty  years.  It  was  rebuilt  by  Domitian  towards  a.  d. 
85,  never  to  suffer  any  more  by  the  violence  of  man  or  at  the  hand 
of  Time,  until  the  vandal  hand  of  the  Abbe  Rancoureuil  ruined  it 
in  1775.  The  Temple  of  Apollo  and  its  libraries  were  destroyed 
in  the  night,  between  the  18th  and  19th  of  March,  a.  d.  363,  the 
fury  of  the  flames  being  such  that  only  the  Sibylline  books  were 
saved  from  the  wreck.  We  hear  no  more  of  the  monumental 
group  until  the  time  of  Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  (f  1520),  when 
the  beautiful  ruins,  set  in  their  frame  of  evergreens,  began  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  architects  and  archaeologists.  Dosio,  Palla- 
dio,  Heemskerk,  Ligorio,  Panvinio  have  left  important  memoranda 
of  the  state  of  the  "  palazzo  maggiore  "  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Palladio  mistook  the  palace  for  a  public  bath  —  terme  di  palazzo 
maggiore  —  but  his  plan  is  none  the  less  important.  I  found  it 
in  the  Burlington-Devonshire  collection  and  published  it  in  the 
"  Mittheilungen "  of  1894,  plates  i.-iii.  Comparing  the  various 
accounts,  maps,  drawings,  sketches,  acts  of  notaries,  etc.,  of  the 
cinquecento,  we  gather  the  following  information  :  — 

The  ground  occupied  by  the  Augustan  buildings  belonged, 
towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  half  to  Alessandro 
Colonna,  half  to  Cristoforo  Stati.  Duke  Paolo  IMattei  purchased 
both  properties  about  1560.  We  do  not  know  whether  Alessandro 
Colonna  had  searched  the  grouiul :  the  two  other  gentlemen  did. 
They  came  across  (and  destroyed)  the  Propylaia,  described  by 
Pliny  (xxxvi.  4,  10);  the  Portico  of  the  Danaids.  described  by 
Propertius  (ii.  31) ;  and  the  Temple  of  Vesta.  No  mention  is 
made  of  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  unless  we  can  consider  as  such 
the  notice  given  by  Pietro  Saute  Bartoli  (Memorie,  n.  7)  of  the 
discovery  of  a  hiding-place  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  where  the 
Sibylline  books  wereprobably  kept.  The  Portico  of  the  Danaids 
numbered  fifty-two  columns  of  glatto  antico,  many  of  which  have 
been  recovered  from  time  to  time,  probably  because  they  were 
considered  unfit  for  the  lime-kiln.  "  On  October  29,  1664,"  says 
an  eye-witness,  "in  the  gardens  of  Duke  :Mattei,  a  portico  was 
discovered  of  extraordinary  i-ichness,  with  columns  of  giallo  an- 
fico.  and  two  bas-reliefs  representing  Romulus,  the  Wolf,  the 
Lupercal,  Faustulus,  the  Tiber,  and  other  sulijects  connected  with 


THE   HOUSE    OF  AUGUSTUS  141 

the  foundation  of  Rome."  Winckelmann  speaks  of  two  other 
panels  representing  Dajdalos  and  Ikaros,  and  a  young  Satyr  drink- 
ing from  a  cup.  A  fifth,  described  by  Matz,  represents  Theseus 
and  the  Minotaur,  a  sixth  Ulysses  and  Diomedes. 

In  1728  Count  Spada,  who  had  bought  the  villa  from  the  Mattel, 
discovered  seven  rooms  "  ornamented  with  precious  marbles,  gilt 
metal,  stucco  bas-reliefs  on  a  golden  ground,  and  arabesques."  In 
one  of  the  rooms,  which  was  used  for  bathing  purposes,  there  was 
a  marble  cathedra,  and  a  basin  of  lead  before  it.  The  two  columns 
of  oriental  alabaster,  which  stood  on  each  side  of  the  cathedra, 
were  removed  to  the  chapel  of  Prince  Odescalchi  in  the  church  of 
SS.  Apostoli.  Count  Si>ada  found  also  "  several  broken  statues 
of  marble  and  bronze." 

In  1825  Charles  Mills  found  another  column  of  yiallo  2.25 
metres  long,  lying  on  a  marble  pavement,  at  a  depth  of  1.5G 
metre.  Other  pieces  of  fluted  shafts  of  giallo  came  to  light  in 
1869  and  1877,  in  the  excavations  of  the  so-called  Stadium,  where 
they  had  rolled  down  from  the  portico,  together  with  the  eighteen 
or  twenty  torsos  of  the  Danaids  described  by  Flaminio  Vacca 
(Mem.  77). 

In  March,  1849,  Colonel  Robert  Smith,  who  had  succeeded 
Charles  Mills  in  the  ownership  of  the  grounds,  destroyed  a  portion 
of  the  Pulvinar  (see  Fig.  53),  to  make  room  for  a  carriage  road 
between  the  gate  on  the  Via  de'  Cerchi  and  the  Casino.  In  the 
same  year  he  discovered  the  drain  connecting  the  Area  ApoUinis 
with  the  main  sewer  of  the  Vallis  Murcia. 

The  blame  for  having  destroyed  to  a  great  extent  the  house 
of  Augustus  rests  with  the  Frenchman  Rancoureuil,  who  exca- 
vated the  Villa  Spada  in  1775,  and  sold  even  the  bricks  and  stones 
of  the  historical  sanctuary  to  a  stonecutter  in  the  Campo  Vaccino 
named  Vinelli.  I  have  heard  it  related  that  the  abbe  was  so 
anxious  to  keep  his  proceedings  secret,  that  besides  preventing 
any  one  front  seeing  the  excavations  by  daylight  (except  his 
friend  Barberi),  he  kept  a  fierce  mastiff  to  watch  the  place  at 
night.  Roman  archaeologists,  however,  did  not  give  up  the  con- 
test, and  a  young  man  named  Benedetto  Mori,  an  assistant  of 
Piranesi,  volunteered  to  sketch  the  plan  of  the  ruins  coute  qui 
coute.  He  began  by  making  advances  to  the  dog,  tempting  him 
with  food,  until  after  many  nocturnal  meetings  the  two  became 
so  friendly  that  the  beast  helped  the  architect  to  accomplish  his 
mission.  U  appears  from  his  designs  —  although  rather  imperfect 
—  that  the  front  of  the  palace  followed  the  curve  of  the  Pulvinar 


142       THE    RUINS    AND  EXCAVATIONS    OF  THE   PALATINE 

ox  state  balcony  from  which  the  games  of  the  Circus  were  seen,  and 
tliat  there  were  five  windows  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  door. 
This  door  was  still  visible  in  1829,  but  it  is  concealed  now  by  the 
gardener's  house.  Inside  the  building  first  came  the  atrium  (A) 
with  a  colonnade  on  each  side,  giving  access  to  apartments  of 
elaborate  shape  and  design ;  farther  on  was  the  court  of  honor, 
with  a  peristyle  of  56  fluted  marble  columns  of  the  Ionic  order, 
on  which  opened  other  private  apartments.  One  of  the  most 
elegant  chambers  was  the  sterquilinvum  (CC),  with  three  recesses 
supported  by  finely  carved  brackets.  Its  pavement  and  walls  were 
incrusted  with  polychrome  marbles ;  of  marble  also  were  the 
water-pipes  connected  with  the  basins.  The  lead  pipes  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  building  bore  the  name  of  Domitian.  No  trace 
seems  to  have  been  found  of  the  tower  or  "  belvedere  "  named 
Syracuse  or  rexvSfpvov,  to  which  Augustus  retired  when  worn  with 
the  care  of  governing  the  world.  From  this  locus  in  edito,  as 
Suetonius  calls  it,  he  must  have  watched  day  by  day  the  trans- 
formation of  the  capital,  which  he  had  found  built  of  bricks  and 
wanted  to  leave  a  city  of  marble.  Just  opposite  the  west  windows 
of  the  palace,  his  friend  L.  Cornificius  was  rebuilding  with  great 
magnificence  the  old  federal  Temple  of  Diana  on  the  Aventine, 
and  Augustus  himself  the  three  temi^les  of  Minerva,  Juno  Regina, 
and  Jupiter  Libertas  on  the  same  hill.  Turning  to  tlie  other 
points  of  the  horizon,  he  could  see  the  transformation  of  the 
Campus  ^lartius  made  by  Agrippa  and  by  himself,  the  Portico 
and  Temple  Ilerculis  Musarum  built  by  jMarcius  Philippus,  the 
Atrium  Libertatis  by  Asinius  Pollio,  the  Temple  of  Saturn  by 
Munatius  Plancus,  a  theatre  and  a  portico  by  Cornelius  Balbus, 
an  amphitheatre  by  Statilius  Taurus,  and  scores  of  other  edifices, 
masterpieces  of  architecture  and  museums  of  fine  arts. 

Of  the  Domus  Augustana  nothing  except  a  few  bare  walls  is 
left  standing,  and  three  underground  rooms  of  graceful  design, 
marked  DDI)  in  the  plan  (p.  139).  The  shimmering  light  which 
falls  througli  masses  of  ivy  from  an  opening  in  the  middle  of  the 
ceilings  makes  these  ruins  very  picturesque.  As  a  contrast  to  the 
loneliness  of  the  spot,  there  is  above  our  heads  an  artistic  gem 
of  the  cinquecento,  a  small  portico  designed  and  painted  by 
llaffaellino  del  Colle.  The  subjects  of  the  graceful  frescoes  are: 
Cupid  showing  the  arrow  to  Venus ;  Venus  lacing  her  sandals ; 
Jupiter  in  the  form  of  a  Satyr  pursuing  Antiope ;  and  other  such 
mythological  scenes.  The  frescoes,  injured  by  neglect,  were  re- 
stored by  Camuccini  in  1824  at  the  expense  of  Charles  Mills. 


THE   HOUSE    OF  AUGUSTUS  143 

It  is  probable  that  the  works  of  art,  discovered  at  various  times 
in  the  adjoining  Stadium,  have  fallen  there  from  the  Domus 
Augustana  and  from  the  Portico  of  the  Danaids  (see  §  xxii.). 

The  two  columns  of  alabaster  found  in  1728  have  been  used 
in  the  decoration  of  the  Odescalchi  chapel.  The  two  bas-reliefs 
symbolic  of  the  foundation  of  Rome  (]\loniimenta  Mattheiana, 
vol.  iii.  pis.  37  and  45)  are  now  set  into  the  wall  of  the  courtyard 
of  the  Palazzo  Mattel.  The  third,  with  Daedalos  and  Ikaros 
(Winckelmann,  Monum.  inediti,  n.  95),  belongs  to  the  Villa 
Albani ;  the  fourth,  with  the  young  Satyr  (Visconti,  Museo  Pio 
Clement,  vol.  iv.  pi.  31),  to  the  Galleria  dei  candelabri.  The  fifth, 
of  Theseos  and  the  Minotaur,  is  broken  in  two,  one  part  belong- 
ing to  the  British  Museum  (Ancient  Marbles,  xi.  48),  one  to  the 
Museo  delle  Terme  in  Rome.  The  latter  also  owns  the  sixth 
panel,  with  the  figures  of  Ulysses  and  Diomedes.  How  interesting 
it  would  be  to  the  stiulent  if  plaster-casts  of  this  unique  set  of 
panels  were  exhibited  in  the  place  to  which  the  originals  belong ! 
The  capital  of  the  Corinthian  order  with  the  acanthus  leaves 
bending  from  right  to  left  (Guattani,  Monum.  ined.,  vol.  ii.  1785, 
p.  94,  tav.  ii.  fig.  G)  is  now  in  England.  The  exfjuisite  frieze 
of  the  sterquilinium  was  divided  between  the  architect  Barberi 
and  the  Venetian  amlxissador  Andrea  Memmo.  One  of  the  two 
Leda?  discovered  by  Rancoureuil  went  to  England,  and  the  Apollo 
Sauroktonos,  also  discovered  by  him,  was  purchased  by  Pius  VI. 
for  the  Museo  Vaticano  (Galleria  delle  statue,  No.  264).  The 
Apollo  Citharoedos  by  Scopas,  which  stood  in  the  temple,  between 
the  images  of  Latona  and  Diana,  is  represented  in  some  brass 
medals  of  tlie  time  of  Augustus;  there  are  also  several  reproduc- 
tions in  marble.  The  one  (No.  516)  in  the  Hall  of  the  Muses  was 
found  in  1774  in  the  Pianella  di  Cassio  near  Tivoli.  A  second 
replica  (No.  495  in  the  same  hall),  known  as  "Bacchus  in  Female 
Attire,"  and  very  mucli  restored,  w'as  removed  from  the  Villa 
Negroni.  There  is  a  third  subject  in  the  hall  of  the  Greek  Cross, 
No.  582,  known  as  the  "  IMuse  Erato,"  which  does  not  deserve  the 
name  of  Apollo  Palatinus  attributed  to  it  in  official  catalogues. 
The  last  replica,  discovered  in  the  Villa  of  Quintus  Voconius 
Pollio  near  Marino,  March,  1885,  was  purchased  by  Leo  XIII.,  and 
largely  restored  by  Galli.  It  now  occupies  the  place  of  the  Faun 
of  Circieii,  No.  41  Braccio  nuovo. 

In  all  these  works  of  art  "  Apollo  appears  in  a  costume  which  at 
first  sight  surprises  us.  We  seem  to  have  before  us  one  of  those 
exalted  females  who  were   mistresses  of   the  Ivre   and  of    song. 


144       THE   RUINS   AND    EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE   PALATINE 

aud  we  require  circumstantial  evidence  to  convince  us  that  these 
splendid  robes  envelop  the  form  of  a  slender  youtli."  ' 

References.  —  Giuseppe  Guattani,  Roma  descritta  ed  illustrata,  vol.  i.  p. 
48,  tav.  viii.-xiv.  ;  and  Monumenti  inediti,  vol.  ii.  1785,  pp.  1  and  29.  —  Luigi 
Canina,  Edljizii  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  iv.  pi.  108.  —  Henry  Deglane,  Gazette 
Archeol.,  1888,  p.  14r5.  —  Bullettlno  arch,  com.,  vol.  xi.  188.3,  p.  185.  —  Visconti 
aud  Lanciani,  Guida  del  Palatino,  Rome,  1873,  pp.  33  and  98.  —  Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciani,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  chap.  v.  ;  and  II  palazzo  maygiore,  in  Mit- 
theilungen,  1894,  pp.  3-36. 

XVI.  DoMus  TiBERiANA  (house  of  Tiberius),  Fig.  54.  —  We 
now  cross  the  valley  which  separated,  before  Domitian's  time,  the 
house  of  Augustus  from  the  Cermalus,  and  visit  the  wing  of  the 
Imperial  residence  which  owes  its  existence  to  Tiberius  and  Cali- 
gula. This  part  is  not  yet  laid  bare,  the  underground  floor  alone 
having  been  made  accessible  here  and  there.  As  we  have  observed 
in  the  introductory  remarks,  the  substructures  are  most  irregular 
in  their  plan,  because  they  were  intended  to  serve  but  one  pur- 
pose :  to  support  an  artificial  j^latform,  upon  w^hich  the  palace  was 
built  on  its  own  independent  design.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
acknowledge  that  the  irregularity  of  the  substructures  is  less 
apparent  here  than  in  any  other  section  of  the  hill,  so  that  we 
can  almost  foresee  what  would  be  the  general  outline  of  the  Domus 
Tiberiana  and  of  the  Domus  Gaiana  if  the  living  apartments 
were  laid  bare.  The  two  buildings  now  form  a  rectangle  150 
metres  long  and  115  metres  wide,  limited  by  the  Forum  Palatinum 
on  the  south,  by  the  area  containing  the  prehistoric  monuments  on 
the  west,  by  the  Clivus  Yictorise  on  the  north  and  east.  It  contains 
the  following  j^laces  of  interest :  (XIV)  the  Domus  Tiberiana ; 
(XV)  the  House  of  Germanicus ;  (XVI)  the  wing  added  by  Cali- 
gula, which  we  shall  call  Domus  Gaiana;  (XVII)  the  Forum  Pala- 
tinum, a  public  square  between  the  palaces  of  Caligula  and  Domi- 
tian.  Apropos  of  the  last-named  place,  the  reader  must  remember 
that  the  Imperial  buildings  of  the  Palatine  did  not  form  a  mass 
inaccessible  to  the  public,  like  the  Vatican  palace  and  gardens  of 
the  present  day;  the  hill  w^as  crossed  by  streets  and  passages, 
through  which  the  citizens  could  probably  pass  without  restric- 
tion at  all  hours  of  the  day.  The  gates  witli  which  these  streets 
and  passages  are  provided  were  probably  closed  at  night,  and 
had  a  guard   posted   by  them.^     This  is  certain   for   the  Porta 

1  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  MvKevms,  p.  230. 

2  At  the  time  of  Caligula's  murder  the  watch  at  the  main  gate  was  probably 
kept  by  the  Gennani  corporis  ciistodes  (Suetonius,  58).  There  were  also  por- 
ters {janitores)  assisted  by  a  watch-dog  (Suetonius,  Vitellius,  16). 


Ef™t3io 


~1 


TTH 
41  I  H 


m 


ol 


(XV)  IniU-SE   OF  (iKKMANlCrS 


ro 


(XIV) 
FISH   POND  ? 


[muunpnn 


CLIVUS 
VICTORIAE* 


'^1 


Fig.  54.  —  Plan  of  the  Doraus  Tiberiana  and  of  the  Domus  Gaiaua. 


146       THE   RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS   OF  THE   PALATINE 

Romanula  and  the  Clivus  Victoriae,  and  for  the  grand  state  en- 
trance in  front  of  Doniitian's  palace ;  it  is  probable  for  the  steps 
of  Cacus,  at  the  top  of  which  the  jambs  of  a  travertine  gate  are 
still  to  be  seen.  For  other  streets  of  access  to  the  Palatine  we 
must  await  the  results  of  further  excavations. 

Tiberius  Claudius  Nero,  father  of  the  Eiuperor,  owned  a  modest 
house  (XV)  on  the  Palatine,  which  afterwards  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  Germanicus.  Tiberius  the  Emperor  raised  a  noble 
palace  next  to  it,  known  in  classic  documents  as  the  Domus  Tibe- 
riana.  It  formed  a  square,  the  south  side  of  which  opened  on  the 
street  called  "  Victoria  Germaniciana,"  whilst  the  west  towered 
above  the  valley  of  the  Velabrum  at  the  height  of  50  metres,  the 
north  touched  the  Temple  of  Victory  and  Caligula's  palace,  and 
the  east  opened  on  the  Forum  Palatinum. 

Tacitus  (Hist.,  i.  27)  says  that  Otho,  wishing  to  join  the  con- 
spirators against  the  life  of  Galba,  who  were  about  to  meet  in  the 
Forum,  descended  to  the  Velabrum  through  the  Domus  Tiberiana 
(probably  by  the  steps  of  Cacus,  or  by  one  of  the  private  stairs 
which  are  still  to  be  seen  behind  the  gardener's  house  and  the 
walls  of  Romulus).  The  same  historian  describes  Vitellius  glutting 
himself  in  the  banqueting-room  of  the  palace,  while  his  jiartisans, 
who  were  fighting  against  Flavins  Sabinus,  had  set  the  Capitol 
ablaze.  The  fire  could  be  seen  from  the  Imperial  table.  On  re- 
ceiving the  news  of  his  defeat,  which  left  no  hope  for  his  crown  or 
foi"  his  life,  he  rushed  to  the  Aventine  jjer  aversam  partem  palatii, 
viz.,  by  the  same  steps  which  Otho  had  descended  a  few  months 
before. 

The  great  attraction  of  the  palace  was  the  library,  Bibliotheca 
Tiberiana,  which  seems  to  have  contained  state  papers  and  docu- 
ments more  than  books.  The  passage  of  Dion  Cassiiis  about  the 
fire  of  Commodus  very  probably  refers  to  it :  "  The  flames  per- 
vaded the  palace  with  such  suddenness  and  force  that  nearly  all 
the  registers  and  records  of  the  Empire  were  lost." 

The  only  portion  now  visible  is  the  arched  substructures  of  the 
south  front,  with  a  row  of  cells  very  poorly  lighted,  ventilated, 
and  ornamented  (see  Fig.  49).  They  must  have  been  occupied 
by  soldiers  or  slaves.  One  of  them  (A)  protected  by  a  wooden 
railing,  is  very  rich  in  grafiiti,  lately  published  and  explained  by 
Professor  Correra  in  "  Bull.  arch,  com.,"  1894,  p.  95,  plates  2-4. 
There  ai-e  mairy  names,  followed  by  the  specification  castre\ji]sis, 
"from  the  praetorian  camp,"  or  milea,  "soldier."  One  of  them 
writes  in  tolei-ably  good  Greek,  " Many  have  Mritten  many  tilings 


THE   HOUSE    OF   TIBERIUS  147 

on   this   wall,  I   nothing ;  "   to   which   another  hand   subscribes 
••  Bravo  !  "  Per- 
haps   the  most 

curious  sratiito  ,  v    ,.,( 

is     a    rough  TV /.L/V^X^'I 
sketch    of    the 

head  of  Nero  made  by  a  soldier  named 
TuUius  Romanus.  ^^  ^   ^-,\\  k  3;  i 

Rough  sketches  and  bona-lide  carica-  .^^'^.'    ^t  :i}''<^''-^ 

turesof  Imperial  heads  are  not  unknown      ; '-    .''   i"  \ 

on   the    Palatine.     One   was    found    in      /,^    ,/|y        iT^_^> 
March,  1876,  by  an  English  lady,  graf-    ^'V,f      \  \ 

fito  on  a  slab  of  giallo  antico  with  the     \  ' ,  j|.^   ^^  ~ 

semi-barbaric  legend  "  Caxir  Xero  "  (iVero     V\Vj 'A   v\S\vx  ..   -^  JS 
Ccesar),  the  work  of  one  of  the  Teutonic      •    \!    ^  C^-""   '"^J 

body-guard.i     This  also  is  a  specimen  of  \  ~^^  i 

the  artistic  propensities  of  another  sol-  A  /f 

dier,  who  perhajjs  had  just  seen  the  Em-  1 2_  // 

peror  walking  in   front  of  the  corpx-de-  /\^  { 

fjarde  of  the  Domus  Tiberiana.     Several  A 

officers  from  the  Domus  Tiberiana  are  /'J 

recorded   in   Roman  epitaphs  :    a  balam-       // 
helus  acuarius,  or   plumber    (Corpus,  n.       Fig.  55.  —  A  Graffito  of  the 
8653)  an  alhanus  a  supelectile.  or  keeper  Domus  Tiberiana. 

of  plate  (n.  8654) ;  ajucundus  vilicus,  or  caretaker  (n.  8655),  etc. 

XVII.  House  of  Germanicus  (Fig.  .54,  XV.). —  This  beau- 
tiful edifice  was  discovered  in  the  spring  of  1869,  and  I  well  re- 
memV)er  the  excitement  created  among  artists  and  archseologists 
by  the  appearance  of  its  celebrated  paintings.  It  is  the  only  Ro- 
num  private  house  now  existing,  the  one  discovered  l)y  Azara  in 
the  Villa  ]\Iontalto,  near  the  present  railway  station,  having  been 
destroyed  in  1777,  and  its  paintings  cut  away  from  the  walls  and 
sold  to  Lord  Bristol. ^ 

The  house  has  but  one  entrance  (B),  not  from  the  streets,  which 
go  round   thi-ee  sides  of   it,  but   from  the  cryptoporticus  of  the 

1   Published  in  facsimile,  Bull.  arch,  cow.,  1877,  p.  166. 

■-  The  house  discovered  by  Azara  was  illustrated  by  Angelo  Uggeri, 
Iconografia  deyli  erlifizi  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  iii.  pis.  14-17,  p.  53;  vol.  ii. 
pi.  24.  —  Raffaele  Mengs  and  Camillo  Buti,  Pitture  trovate  I'  anno  1777  nelhi 
rilln  Ner]voni.  13  plates.  —  Camillo  Massimi,  Notizie  della  villa  Massimi, 
Rome,  1836,  p.  214.  — Luigi  Canina,  Edijizl  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  iv.  tav.  192. 


148       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

palace  of  Tiberius  and  CaligTila,  in  which  the  murder  of  the  latter 
took  place  on  January  24,  a.  d.  41.  The  historians  who  describe 
the  event  say  that  the  murderers,  not  daring  to  retrace  their  steps 
for  fear  of  the  guards  posted  at  the  main  entrance  by  the  Velia, 
ran  away  in  the  opposite  direction  and  concealed  themselves  in 
the  house  of  Germanicus.  This  statement  leaves  no  doubt  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  building,  which,  besides,  abounds  in  hiding- 
places,  crypts,  and  underground  passages  running  in  the  direction 
of  the  house  of  Augustus.  The  intense  love  felt  by  the  Romans 
for  the  unhappy  prince,  and  the  veneration  for  his  memory,  which 
lasted  for  centuries,  explain  the  fact  that  this  house  alone,  among 
so  many  public  and  private  buildings,  altars,  shrines,  temples, 
palaces,  etc.,  destroyed  by  the  Cpesars,  was  kept  as  a  national 
relic  down  to  the  fall  of  the  Empire.  Evidence  of  the  care  taken 
of,  and  of  repairs  made  on,  the  house  from  time  to  time  is  to  be 
found  in  the  legends  of  its  water-pipes.  One  bears  the  name 
"  Ivliae-Avg"  (Julia,  the  daughter  of  Titus,  or  Julia  Domna)  ;  the 
second,  "  Domitiani  Caesar[/.s']  Avg[usti]  " ;  the  third  has  the  name 
of  a  plumber,  "  \j\iicius'\  Pescennivs  Eros,"  probably  a  contempo- 
rary of  Septimius  Severus. 

The  fore  portion  of  tlie  house,  sunk  below  the  level  of  the 
street,  is  built  of  reticulated  work  with  small  prisms  of  yellowish 
tufa.  The  angles  and  arches  are  of  the  same  material,  without 
any  mixture  of  bricks,  a  style  of  masonry  which  came  into  fashion 
towards  the  end  of  the  Republic.  Like  all  Roman  private  resi- 
dences, it  is  divided  into  two  sections:  one  for  the  reception  of 
friends  and  clients,  one  for  domestic  use.  We  enter  the  first  by 
an  inclined  vestibule  paved  with  fine  mosaic.  Tlie  atrium  (C)  was 
probably  testudinatum,  viz.  covered  by  a  roof  with  no  impluinum 
in  the  centre.  The  pavement  is  of  fine  mosaic ;  and  there  are 
remains  of  the  altar  of  the  domestic  gods  (D).  Three  halls  open 
on  the  side  opposite  the  vestibule ;  the  first  on  the  left  (E),  dam- 
aged by  the  sinking  of  the  outer  wall,  has  some  good  decorative 
panels  divided  by  slender  columns,  with  ivy  and  vines  woven  around 
their  shafts. 

The  central  hall  or  tablinum  (F)  has  a  similar  decoration  of 
composite  columns,  but  the  panels  contain  frescoes  far  superior 
to  the  others  in  interest,  design,  and  execution.  They  have  been 
reproduced  many  times  and  by  various  processes  by  Rosa,  Perrot, 
and  the  German  Institute ;  the  best  copes  in  facsimile,  made  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  by  M.  Layraud,  were  presented  by 
Napoleon  III.  to  the  Library  of  the  l^cole  des  Beaux  Ai'ts. 


THE   HOrSE    OF   GERMANICVS  149 

The  one  in  the  back  wall  represents  Polyphemus  the  giant,  half 
merged  in  the  waters  of  the  sea,  who,  having  crushed  his  rival 
Akis  under  a  heavy  rock,  turns  toward  Galatea  with  an  expression 
of  cruelty  mingled  with  tenderness.  The  Xymph  glides  over  the 
water  on  the  back  of  a  sea-horse,  followed  by  two  Nereids.  The 
passion  by  which  the  giant  was  nuxstered  is  represented  by  a 
Cupid,  who  stands  upright  on  his  left  shoulder  and  guides  him 
with  a  ribbon. 

On  the  right,  and  above  the  frieze,  there  is  a  smaller  panel 
rejiresenting  a  scene  of  private  initiation.  The  picture  which 
follows,  on  turning  to  the  right  wall,  belongs  to  the  landscape 
order,  and  show^s  a  sti-eet  scene  with  houses  many  stories  high 
on  either  side.  A  woman,  followed  by  her  attendant,  knocks  at 
one  of  the  doors,  and  four  or  five  figures  appear  at  the  windows 
or  on  the  balconies  to  make  sui'e  who  is  seeking  for  admittance. 
The  second  small  panel,  above  the  frieze,  seems  to  indicate  the 
preparations  for  a  domestic  sacrifice. 

The  last  and  best  picture  pertains  to  the  myth  of  lo,  loved  by 
Jupiter  and  persecuted  by  Juno.  The  fair  daughter  of  Inachus  is 
kept  jirisoner  in  the  sacred  wood  by  Mycen.T,  and  sits  at  the  foot 
of  a  pillar  surmounted  by  the  image  of  the  jealous  goddess.  The 
all-seeing  Argos,  armed  with  lance  and  sword,  gazes  intently  at 
the  girl  in  his  custody.  Behind  the  rock,  on  which  he  is  leaning 
with  the  right  elbow,  Mercury  appears  to  advance  cautiously, 
waving  the  caduceus  as  a  symbol  of  his  mission  from  the  father 
of  the  gods  for  the  deliverance  of  lo.  The  name  EPMH2  is  written 
in  white  letters  under  the  Messenger's  feet,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  other  jiersonages  were  likewise  indicated  by  their  proper 
names  in,  APFOS. 

The  dining-room  or  Irirlinium  (G)  opens  on  the  west  side  of 
the  court.  Its  frescoes  have  suffered  very  mucli  from  exposure 
and  damp,  the  apartment  being  sunk  four  metres  l)elow  the  street. 
The  walls  have  been  found  coated  with  flange  tiles,  with  the  rim 
turned  inwards,  so  as  to  leave  a  free  space  for  the  circulation  of 
air  and  the  evaporation  of  moisture.  A  curious  vase  of  glass  filled 
with  fruit  is  painted  above  the  entrance  door.  The  panels  have  a 
vermilion  ground,  except  two  which  show  fanciful  groups  of  birds, 
animals,  trees,  etc.,  on  a  white  surface,  the  work  of  a  very  inferior 
artist. 

Admittance  to  the  inner  (and  higher)  rooms  is  gained  by  a 
narrow  wooden  staircase  (H)  on  the  west  side  of  the  atrium,  near 
the  door  of  the  iricliniiDii :  but  they  hardly  deserve  a  visit,  having 
been  despoiled  of  every  bit  of  ornamentation. 


150       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

References.  —  Pietro  Rosa,  Plan  et  peintures  de  la  niaison  pnternelle  de 
Tib'ere,  s.  1.  —  Lanciani  and  Visconti,  Guida  del  Palatino,  Rome,  Bocca,  1873, 
p.  132.  —  Georges  Perrot,  Memulres  d^ircheologie,  Paris,  Didier,  1875,  p.  74. 
(Les  peintures  du  Palatin.) — J.  H.  Middleton,  The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome, 
vol.  i.  p.  175.  —  Monumenti  delV  lustituto,  vol.  xi.  pis.  22,  23. 

XVIII.  DoMUS  Gaiana  (house  of  Caligula),  Fig.  54,  XVI. — 
Suetonius  (Calig.  22)  and  Dion  Cassius  (lix.  28;  Ix.  6)  say  that 
Caligula  protracted  the  Imjjerial  Palace  as  far  as  the  Forum  {ad 
Forum  usque),  making  use  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux 
for  a  vestibule.  lie  must  have  thus  occupied  and  built  over 
the  ground  once  covered  by  the  houses  of  Clodius,  Cicero,  and 
other  wealthy  citizens,  described  in  §  ii.,  and  crossed  by  the  Clivus 
Victorife.  The  front  of  the  palace  opened  on  the  Nova  Via, 
towering  above  its  pavement  to  the  height  of  150  feet.  This 
facade  is  represented  in  its  present  ruinous  state  by  the  following 
plate  (Fig.  56). 

Starting  from  the  foreground  —  the  Clivu.s  Sacer  by  the  Arch 
of  Fabius  Allobrogicus  —  we  first  see  the  house  of  the  Vestals, 
with  the  statues  of  the  priestesses  lining  the  south  side  of  the 
peristyle ;  and  above  it  the  Nova  Via,  by  which  the  house  was 
separated  from  Caligula's  palace.  The  whole  mass  of  arched 
masonry  which  rises  above  the  street,  and  which  appears  ci'owned 
by  a  clump  of  ilexes,  represents  only  the  substructures  built  by 
Caligula  to  raise  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  a  level  with  its  summit. 
The  palace  itself,  with  its  state  apartments  and  halls  and  porti- 
coes, began  where  the  ruins  actually  stop,  not  a  particle  being  left 
above  ground  to  tell  the  tale.  The  substructures,  at  all  events,  are 
well  worth  visiting  :  we  gain  by  them  the  true  idea  of  the  human 
fourmilliere  of  slaves,  servants,  freedmen,  and  guards,  which  lived 
and  moved  and  worked  in  the  substrata  of  the  Palatine,  serving 
the  court  in  silence  and  almost  in  darkness.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  or  to  explain  how  the  greater  portion  of  these  under- 
ground dens  were  lighted  and  ventilated.  I  believe  that,  in  the 
oi'iginal  design,  they  were  well  provided  with  such  essential  ele- 
ments of  light  and  comfort :  the  cryptoporticm,  where  the  mux'der 
of  Caligula  took  place,  received  light  from  tlie  Forum  Palatinum 
(Fig.  54,  XVII.)  by  means  of  skylights  opening  under  each  inter- 
columniation  ;  the  rooms  KK  had  a  skylight  in  the  middle  of 
their  vaulted  ceiling,  and  so  forth.  In  progress  of  time,  aiul  on  the 
occasion  of  the  repairs  and  changes  which  every  Emperor  consid- 
ered it  his  duty  to  make,  no  regard  was  paid  to  the  original  plan  : 
staircases,  windows,  and  corridors  were  condemned,  intercepted,  or 


THE    HOUSE    OF    CALIGULA 


151 


closed :  rooms  subdivided  into  two  or  four  apartments  ;  free  spaces 
built  over ;  and  streets  tm-ned  into  dark  passages. 


The  student's  most  perplexing  labor  on  the  Palatine  is  to  single 
out  which  parts  are  architecturally  essential  and  pertain  to  the 


152       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

original  plan,  and  which  are  later  changes  deserving  no  considera- 
tion. His  task  is  made  even  more  tronblesome  by  the  fact  that  all 
maps  of  the  hill,  from  that  of  Zangolini,  which  I  published  in 
1873,1  to  the  latest  of  Richter  (1889),  Middletou  (1892),  and  Bm-ns 
(1895),  mark  existing  remains  with  the  same  shade  of  color, 
no  matter  whether  they  belong  to  the  great  banqueting-hall  of 
the  masters  of  the  world,  or  to  a  cellar  sunk  deep  iu  the  ground. 
I  have  tried  to  avoid  this  mistake  in  Sheets  xxix.  and  xxxv.  of 
the  "  Forma  Urbis,"  where  only  the  living  apartments  and  public 


r+H 


iUji^llllJ 


Fig.  57.  — A  Corner  of  tlie  Palace  of  Caligula  according  to  Rosa's  Map. 

buildings  are  marked  in  full  tint,  the  substructures  and  cellars 
in  lighter  color  or  in  simple  outline.  The  results  obtained  by  this 
process  of  sifting  are  in  many  cases  remarkable.  The  following 
from  Caligula's  house  might  serve  for  all. 

The  portion  of  the  house  which  spans  the  Clivus  Victorias  is 
represented  in  guide  and  topographical  books  as  follows  (Fig.  57)  : 

According  to  this  accepted  plan,  none  of  the  rooms  marked  AA, 
BB,  CC  had  light  or  air,  the  whole  space  —  the  street  included  — 
being  vaulted  over.  Now,  as  "  several  rooms  .  .  .  are  richly 
1  The  same  that  I  have  made  use  of  in  Ancient  Rome,  pp.  106,  107. 


THE   HOUSE    OF   CALIGULA 


153 


decorated  with  a  combinatiou  of  colored  stucco  reliefs  and  paint- 
ings on  the  flat,  very  gorgeous  in  effect,  but  almost  invisible  for 
want  of  light,  except  that  of  lamp,"  ^  and  others  have  an  elaborate 
mosaic  floor,  as  is  suitable  for  rooms  inhabited,  not  by  slaves,  but 
by  officers  of  superior  rank,  we  w^ere  trying  to  find  the  proper  ex- 
planation of  these  facts,  but  in  vain.  It  came  in  the  most  satis- 
factory way  w  hen  I  adopted  the  system  of  distinguishing,  in  color 
or  in  outline,  the  original  walls  from  later  additions. 

By  glancing  at  the  nuip  made  with  this  caution.  Fig.  58,  we  see 
at  once  that  when  the  palace  was  built  by  Caligula,  the  apartments 


Fig.  58.  — The  Same,  according  to  Sheet  xxix.of  the  "  Forma  Urbis." 

now  plunged  in  darkness  received  light  and  air  from  a  court  32 
metres  long  and  26  wide,  through  which  passed  the  Clivus  Victoria^. 
The  rooms  on  the  southwest  side  opened  on  a  balcony  "  supported 
on  stone  corbels  carrying  a  series  of  arches."  These  and  the 
front  of  the  balcony  "  are  richly  decorated  with  delicate  reliefs, 
modeled  in  stucco,  of  figures  and  foliage,  once  covered  with  gold 
and  colored  decoration,  and  designed  with  great  skill  and  beauty 
of  effect "  (Middleton).  The  marble  railing  or  parapet  is  an 
addition  by  Rosa. 

The  rooms  under  the  balcony,  on  a  level  with  the  court,  were 
used  as  a  corps  de  garde.     The  walls  of  one  (now  protected  by  a 

1  Middleton,  i.  194. 


154       THE  RUIN^  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

wooden  railing)  are  covered  with  graffiti.  There  are  names  like 
"  Philaronivs,"  "  Annaevs,"  "  Aprilis  ;  "  the  inipi-ession  of  a  coin 
repeated  five  times  ;  and  the  phrase,  written  perhaps  in  the  hour 
of  the  siesta  in  a  hot  summer  day  :  "  Somnvs  clavdit  ocellos." 
(See  Bull,  arch,  com.,  1895,  p.  195.) 

Another  portion  of  the  building,  the  cri/ptopnriicus,  marked 
XVIII,  Fig.  51,  has  been  identified  beyond  any  shade  of  doubt 
with  the  "  solitary  and  obscure  corridor  "  in  which  the  assassina- 
tion of  Caligula  took  place  on  January  14,  a.  d.  41.  The  event  is 
described  at  some  length  on  pp.  117-119  of  "  Ancient  Rome." 

Near  the  bend  of  the  crriptoporticus  towards  the  house  of  Ger- 
manicus,  there  is  an  oval  basin,  which  Rosa  calls  a  fish-pond 
(vivaio  di  pesci).  I  doubt  whether  it  is  ancient,  or  the  work  of  a 
mediaeval  farmer.  It  marks  the  i^lace  in  which  the  Renaissance 
lime-burners  established  their  kilns.  One  of  these  was  discovered 
by  Rosa  in  1866,  filled  to  the  brim  with  exquisite  works  of  art, 
some  of  which  had  by  an  accident  escaped  the  effects  of  fire.  The 
objects  formerly  exhibited  in  the  local  Museo  Palatino,  where 
they  attracted  intense  interest,  and  now  scattei'ed  in  various  rooms 
of  the  Museo  delle  Terme,  comprise  a  veiled  head  of  the  Emperor 
Claudius;  a  head  of  Nero;  three  caryatides  or  eaHe/j/io/-rt«  of  nero 
antico  of  an  archaistic  type  ;  an  exquisite  statue  of  an  ephebos  in 
green  basalt,  with  the  arms  and  lower  portion  of  the  legs  miss- 
ing ;  ^  head  of  Arpokras,  and  several  fragments  of  less  importance. 

The  last  place  deserving  of  a  visit  is  the  long  and  well-preserved 
staircase  which  leads  from  the  Clivus  Victoriae  to  the  top  of  the 
ruins,  where  a  charming  little  grove  of  evergreens  now  casts  its 
shade.  The  grove  is  known  in  literary  histoi'y  as  the  first  place 
of  meeting  of  the  Accademia  degli  Arcadi. 

The  palace,  or  whatever  remained  of  it  in  tolerable  preservation 
after  the  barbarian  inroads,  was  taken  possession  of  and  some- 
times inhabited  by  the  popes,  as  a  practical  evidence  of  their 
political  power  in  Rome.  The  palace  was  put  under  the  cai'e  of 
an  officer  styled  a  ciira  jjalatii.  One  of  them  named  Plato,  whose 
epitaph  was  seen  by  Pietro  Sabino  in  tlie  pavement  of  the  church 
of  S.  Anastasia,  rebuilt  or  repaired  about  680  the  long  staircase 
which  I  have  just  mentioned  as  descending  from  tlie  top  of  the 
ruins  to  the  Clivus  Victoi-iae  and  the  Porta  Romanula.  His  son, 
having  been  elected  pojie  in  705  under  the  name  of  ,Iohn  VI I.,^ 

1  The  statue  has  been  recently  ilUistrated  by  F.  Hauser  in  the  MlUhnlunijen 
for  1805,  pp.  97-119,  pi.  1.     (Basalt  statue  vom  Palatin.) 

2  John  VII.  was  buried  in  S.  Peter's  before  the  altar  of  the  Sudario,  which 


THE   HOUSE    OF   CALIGULA 


155 


conceived  the  plan  of  making  the  palace  of  the  Caesars  the  perma- 
nent and  official  residence  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome  ;  and  accord- 
ingly "  super  ecclesiam  sanctaj  Dei  genitricis  qua?  antiqua  vocatur 
[above  the  church  of  S.  ]\Iaria  Liberatrice]  episcopium  construere 
vol  nit,"  1  and  established  brick-kilns  for  the  purpose,  the  produce 
of  which  is  marked  by  the  stamp  shown  in  Fig.  59. 


Fig.  59.  —  A  Brick  Stamp  of  Jolin  VII. 

John  YIT.  did  not  live  to  see  his  project  accomplished :  his 
successors  did  not  care  for  it,  and  they  repaired  to  the  convents 
or  strongholds  of  the  Palatine  only  in  case  of  necessity.  Celes- 
tinus  II.  died  in  1144  apud  Palladium  (in  the  monastery  of  S. 
Cesario) ;  Lucius  II.  in  114.3  ap>id  ecclesiam  S.  Gregorii  (in  the 
fortress  of  the  Septizonium)  ;  Eugenius  III.  was  elected  pope  in 
1145  apud  monasteriiun  S.  Cesarii ;  Gregory  IX.  in  1227  apiid  sep- 
temsolium.  They  were  simply  chosen  as  places  of  refuge  in  times 
of  popular  disorder,  which  once  quelled,  the  popes  resumed  their 
habitual  residence  at  the  Lateran. 

Caligula's  palace  has  not  been  excavated  since  the  sack  by  the 
Duke  qf  Parma  in  1725-27 ;  and  we  do  not  know  whether  thei'e 
are  still  traces  left  of  the  work  of  John  VII.  or  of  his  Imperial 
predecessors. 

XIX.  The  Palace  of  Domitiax  (ojKi'a  Ao/xenavoC).  —  One  of 
the  first  thoughts  of  Vespasian,  after  iiis  election  in  a.  d.  69,  was 
to  reduce  the  Imperial  residence  to  its  old  limits  on  the  Palatine, 

he  had  built  and  endowed.    His  portrait,  a  miniature  in  a  golden  ground,  is 
given  by  Giacomo  Grimaldi,  Cod.  Barb.,  f.  9-3. 

1  References. —  Liber  pontijicalis,  in  .lohann.  VII.,  ed.  Duchesne,  vol.  i. 
p.  385. —  G.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Notizie  deyli  Scari,  dicemb.  188-3.  —  Rodolfo 
Lauciani,  L'  itinerario  di  Einsiedlen,  p.  63. — Louis  Duchesne,  Btdletin  cri- 
tique, 188.5,  p.  417  sq. ;  and  Milanrieif  de  V Ecole  franq(nse  de  Rome,  1896,  fasc. 
ii.  — Grisar  Hartniann,  S.  .T.,  in  CiriUa  Cattol,  May,  189G. 


loG       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

and  give  back  to  the  people  the  immense  tract  of  land  which 
Nero  had  usurped  for  his  Golden  House.  At  the  same  time  he 
could  not  abstain  from  raising  himself  a  new  palace,  to  be  used 
for  state  receptions  and  banquets.  This  great  structure,  called  by 
Nerva  cedes  publicce  populi  Romani,  was  brought  to  perfecticg;i  by 
Domitian,  who  lavished  upon  it  all  the  costliest  productions  of 
contemporary  art.  Hence  Plutarch  (Poplic,  15)  calls  it  o'lKia 
Aofieriavov,  and  compares  Domitian  to  Midas,  who  turned  into  gold 
whatever  fell  under  his  touch.  See  also  the  eulogy  of  Statins 
(Sylv.,  iv.  11,  18).  It  stands  between  the  palaces  of  Tiberius  and 
Caligula  on  one  side,  and  that  of  Augustus  (with  its  temples  and 
porticoes)  on  the  other,  in  the  line  of  the  valley  which  runs  from 
the  Arch  of  Titus  to  the  Circus.  The  valley  was  still  occupied  at 
that  time  by  private  mansions,  and  by  one  or  two  shrines ;  they 
were  not  destroyed,  but  made  use  of  to  support  the  platform  on 
which  the  palace  stands.  Some  of  these  older  buildings  are  still 
visible,  and  will  be  described  below.  The  plan  of  the  palace  is 
that  of  a  private  Roman  house,  but  it  is  of  a  size  and  magnificence 
becoming  the  ruler  of  the  world.  Little  or  nothing  is  known  of 
its  history ;  in  fact,  it  seems  never  to  have  required  repairs  on 
account  of  the  solidity  of  its  construction.  The  Emperors  did 
not  live  in  it,  but  held  their  levees,  delivered  their  judgments, 
presided  over  councils  of  state,  received  foreign  envoys,  and  gave 
official  banquets  in  the  various  apartments  set  apart  for  such 
purposes.  The  last  Emperor  seen  in  the  palace  was  Heraclius, 
whose  coronation  took  place  in  the  throne-room  a.  d.  629.  We 
hear  of  it  again  nine  centuries  later,  when  the  northern  half  of  the 
Palatine  was  bought  by  the  Farnese.  To  this  family  we  owe  the 
first  excavations  of  the  Palatine.  They  took  place  in  1536,  when 
the  avenue  now  called  di  S.  Gregorio  was  cut  open  between  the 
Septizonium  and  Constantine's  Arch  for  the  triumphal  progress  of 
Charles  V.  In  the  legal  deeds  for  the  acquisition  of  property  on 
the  hill,  the  Farnese,  and  above  all  the  glorious  Cardinal  Alessan- 
dro,  always  betray  their  inclination  for  archaeological  discoveries. 
One  of  them,  dated  January  17,  1542,  contains  these  words : 
"Marco  Antonio  Palosio  sells  to  tlie  cardinal,  etc.,  his  vinej^ard 
on  the  Palatine,  adjoining  that  of  Yirginio  da  Mantaco,  with  its 
crypts,  ruins,  edifices,  marbles,  and  statues,  whether  visible  above 
ground  or  covered  yet  by  the  accumulation  of  soil."  The  result 
of  the  Farnese  excavations  is  not  known ;  but  considering  that 
the  front  walls  of  the  gardens  (destroyed  in  1881)  cut  the  house 
of  the  Vestals  right  in  two,  that  the  Uccelliera  (now  the  Uffizio 


158       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

degli  Scavi)  was  founded  on  Caligula's  palace,  and  the  Casino 
(described  on  p.  164)  on  that  of  Domitian,  something  of  value  must 
certainly  have  come  to  light.  Tlie  only  monument  mentioned  by 
contemporary  archfeologists  is  the  pedestal  (Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  456) 
which  marks  approximately  the  site  of  the  ^des  Penatium  in 
Velia.     It  was  discovered  near  the  Arch  of  Titus. 

Three  halls  open  on  the  front  of  Domitian's  palace  :  tlie  throne- 
room,  aula  regia,  in  the  centre ;  the  chapel,  or  lararium,  on  the  left ; 
and  a  basilica,  or  court-room,  on  the  right.  The  throne-room,  built 
of  bricks  from  the  kilns  of  Flavia  Domitilla,  is  160  feet  long  and  120 
wide,  and  was  decorated  with  sixteen  columns  of  pavonazzetto  (aa), 
having  bases  and  capitals  exquisitely  cut  in  ivory-coloi-ed  marble. 
There  were  three  niches  on  either  side  for  colossal  statues  or  groups, 
and  each  of  them  was  flanked  by  smaller  columns  of  porphyry. 
The  two  statues  of  black  basalt,  discovered  in  the  adjoining 
basilica  in  1724,  had  been  probably  removed  from  these  niches. 
On  either  side  of  the  great  door  (b),  opening  on  the  front  portico, 
stood  two  columns  of  giallo  antico,  which  the  Duke  of  Parma  sold 
to  the  stone-cutters  Perini  and  IMaciucchi  for  3000  scudi.  The 
threshold  was  made  of  a  block  of  Greek  marble  so  large  that  the 
high  altar  of  the  church  of  S.  M.  ilotonda  has  been  cut  out  of  it. 
The  throne  (c),  or  augustale  solium,  was  placed  ojDposite  the  door, 
in  the  apse  where  Bianchini  in  1726  set  up  his  mendacious  praise 
of  Francis  I.,  Duke  of  Parma  and  Piacenza,  the  last  destroyer  of 
the  Palatine.  Bianchini  has  given  the  name  of  lararimn,  or  do- 
mestic chapel,  to  the  room  on  the  left,  on  account  of  the  altar 
which  he  found  built  against  the  back  wall.  The  altar,  which  was 
approached  by  two  flights  of  stairs,  has  since  been  demolished. 
Here  took  place  the  remarkable  find  described  in  "  Ancient  Rome," 
p.  127.  Heliogabalus,  according  to  Herodianus,  had  attempted  to 
collect  into  the  chaj^el  attached  to  the  palace  of  the  Caesars  the 
most  famous  relics  of  the  Roman  world  —  the  Palladium,  the  fire 
of  Vesta,  the  ancilia,  and,  of  course,  the  Acus  Matris  Deum  or 
meteoric  stone  from  Pessinus,  described  in  §  xiii.  The  stone,  it  may 
be  remembered,  was  very  large,  of  conical  shape,  and  brown  in 
color.  Monsignor  Bianchini,  who  excavated  the  lararium  in  1725, 
seems  to  have  positively  discovered  the  relic.  "  I  am  sorry,"  he 
says,  "  that  no  fragment  of  statue  or  bas-relief  or  inscription  has 
been  found  in  the  chapel ;  .  .  .  the  only  object  discovered  was  a 
stone  nearly  three  feet  high,  conical  in  shape,  of  a  deep  brow'n 
color,  looking  very  much  like  lava,  and  ending  in  a  sharp  point. 
I  do  not  know  what  became  of  it." 


THE   PALACE    OF    DOM  TT I  AN  159 

If  my  siu-mise  i.s  well  founded,  and  the  identity  between  the 
Acus  Matris  Deum  and  Bianchini's  stone  probable,  if  not  certain, 
we  can  better  understand  the  passage  of  the  "  A^ita  Heliog.,"  iii. 
The  templum  HeJiogahali  iuxta  (edes  imperatorias,  which  he  men- 
tions, must  have  been  close  to  the  lararium,  unless  the  lararium 
itself  was  transformed  into  a  temple. 

Behind  the  chapel  is  the  only  staircase  (d)  yet  discovered  in 
these  apartments.  It  led  to  the  iipper  galleries,  from  which  the 
great  ceremonies  of  state  coidd  be  witnessed  by  invited  guests. 
Another  flight  of  steps,  now  buried  again,  leads  to  the  wine-cellars, 
whei-e  Bianchini  discovered,  in  1721,  rows  of  amphorfe  marked 
with  the  label  liquamen  excellens  L.  Purelli  Gemelli  (Bianchini,  p. 
260).  The  walls  of  the  staircase  and  those  of  the  room  (e)  were 
covered  with  exquisite  fresco  paintings,  of  which  not  a  square 
inch  has  been  spared  desti-uction.  Fortunately  they  were  copied 
in  time  b}-  Gaetano  Piccini  and  Francesco  Bartoli.  Piccini's 
album  is  to  be  found  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Hofburg,  Vienna; 
Bartoli's  plates  in  the  Topham  collection  at  Eton.  These  last 
number  58,  of  which  10  are  of  great  size.  They  represent  cam- 
pestrian  scenes,  sacritices,  and  Bacchic  dances,  crowded  with  grace- 
fid  figures.! 

Some  of  the  subjects  have  also  been  engraved  on  copper.  They 
are  to  be  found  in  Cameron's  "  Baths  of  the  Romans  from  tlie 
Restorations  of  Palladio  "  (London,  1772)  ;  in  INIorghen's  appen- 
dix to  the  "  Pictura?  antiquas  Cryptarum  Romanarum  "  of  Bartoli ; 
and  in  tlie  '•  Collection  of  Ancient  Paintings  after  the  Originals  at 
Rome,  witli  Critical,  Historical,  and  Mythological  Observations 
upon  them,"  by  George  Turnbull,  LL.  D.  (London,  1741,  folio, 
54  plates).  When  we  think  that  these  exquisite  specimens  of 
the  golden  art  of  Domitian's  age  were  found  intact  in  the  first 
quarter  of  last  century,  under  the  eyes  of  such  men  as  Cardinal 
Alessandro  Albani,  Pier  Leone  Ghezzi,  Francesco  Bianchini,  and 
Fi-ancesco  Bartoli,  and  that  the  very  walls  w^hich  they  covered 
wei-e  demolished  for  the  sake  of  the  bricks,  we  may  indeed  ask  by 
what  right  we  continue  blaming  the  iSIiddle  Ages  or  the  barbarians 
for  deeds  Avhich  are  not  as  disgraceful  as  those  here  recorded. 

The  hall  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  throne-room  is  thought  to 
have  been  a  hasilica,  or  court-room,  where  the  prince  delivered 
judgment  in  cases  pertaining  or  submitted  to  the  crown.     There 

1  See  Disegni  di  antichita  nella  BiMiott-ca  di  S.  Maria  di  Eton  (in  Bull, 
arch,  com.,  1894,  p.  164).  —  Pirturw  antiqiM  Cryptanim  Romanarum  {ibidem, 
189.5,  p.  182).—  II palmzo  Mar/r/iore  (in  Mittheilung-en.  1894,  p.  26). 


160       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

are  still  traces  of  the  suggestum  or  platform  on  which  sat  the  Im- 
perial judge  and  his  assessors,  and  of  the  staircases  which  led  to  it. 
The  fragment  of  a  marble  screen,  dividing  the  apse  from  the  space 
reserved  for  the  audience,  and  the  columns  by  which  the  hall  would 
be  divided  into  aisles  and  nave,  are  "  restorations  "  of  Commenda- 
tore  Rosa,  resting  on  no  sufficient  evidence.  The  basilica  was 
excavated  for  the  first  time  (?)  in  1724.  There  is  an  account  of 
the  results  in  MSS.  p.  248  of  the  queen's  library  at  Windsor, 
from  which  we  gather  that  the  two  colossal  statues  of  Bacchus 
and  Hercules  in  black  basalt,  now  in  the  Museo  at  Parma,  were 
found  lying  on  the  floor  on  April  20  of  the  same  year. 

Behind  the  three  front  halls  opens  the  inner  court  or  peristyle, 
the  area  of  which  amounts  to  3600  square  metres.  The  columns 
were  of  porta  santa,  with  columns,  capitals,  and  entablature  cut  in 
white  marble  like  lace-work.  Suetonius  says  that  this  was  a  favor- 
ite haunt  of  Domitian,  who  could  walk  under  the  colonnades  away 
from  the  crowd  and  secure  from  danger.  The  biographer  adds 
that  the  side  walls  had  been  inci'usted  with  slabs  of  phengite 
marble,  reflecting  the  images  like  a  mirror,  so  as  to  allow  the 
prince  to  see  whatever  might  take  place  behind  his  shoulders. 
The  two  sides  of  the  peristyle  are  occupied  by  a  set  of  nine  rooms 
of  various  shapes,  the  use  of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine. 
Considering,  however,  that  the  middle  room,  octagonal  in  shape, 
forms  a  vestibule  through  which  personages  driving  to  the  palace 
by  the  Forum  Palatinum  were  admitted  into  it,  it  is  obvious  that 
they  were  used  for  cloak  and  waiting  rooms,  porter's  lodge,  etc. 

Before  proceeding  any  farther  in  our  description,  it  is  necessary 
to  remember  that  below  the  halls  we  have  visited,  and  even  below 
the  peristyle,  there  are  other  splendid  apartments,  galleries,  crypto- 
porticuses,  and  bathrooms,  the  existence  of  which  has  remained 
unknown  to  the  modern  excavators  of  the  Palatine.  I  only  dis- 
covered it  myself  in  1892,  while  examining  Bianchini's  manu- 
scripts in  the  Biblioteca  Capitolare  at  Verona,  and  the  Topham 
collection  of  drawings  at  Eton.  The  subject  is  so  curious  and  new 
that  a  few  words  of  explanation  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

In  1722,  the  Marchese  Ignazio  de'  Santi,  Minister  of  Parma  to 
the  Pope,  asked  leave  for  his  master,  the  Duke  Francis,  to  excavate 
the  Palatine  Gardens  which  he  had  inherited  from  the  Farnese. 
Cardinal  Patrizi,  in  giving  consent  on  behalf  of  Innocent  XTII., 
imposed  two  conditions  :  that  if  the  value  of  gold  and  silver  coins, 
engraved  stones,  and  medals  should  eventually  exceed  the  sum  of 
10.000  scudi,  the  Pope's  treasury  should  share  the  profits  ;  secondly. 


THE   PALACE    OF   DO  MIT  I  AN  161 

that  life-size  statues  and  architectural  marbles  should  not  be  re- 
moved from  Rome.  Duke  Francesco  rebelled  against  these  fair 
conditions,  and  his  agent  in  Rome  gave  so  much  trouble  that,  on 
April  4,  1720,  Cardinal  Albani  gave  him  carte  blanche  to  do  what 
he  pleased  on  the  Palatine.  He  did  not  hesitate  about  it.  The 
acts  of  vandalism  committed  by  this  Ignazio  de'  Santi  and  his 
successor  Count  Suzzani,  with  the  tacit  consent  of  Monsignore 
Francesco  Bianchini,  w^ho  had  been  appointed  superintendent  of 
the  excavations,  have  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  destruction 
of  Rome.  The  words  ladronecci  infami,  used  by  Guattani  in  re- 
ferring to  them,  are  comparatively  mild.  The  prelate  was  the  only 
one  to  sufifer.  While  watching  the  works  one  day,  the  ground 
gave  way  under  his  feet,  and  although  the  di'op  w^as  hardly  four- 
teen feet,  the  shock  was  ultimately  the  cause  of  his  death.  His 
posthumous  volume,  "  II  palazzo  dei  Cesari,"  is  almost  worthless, 
both  in  the  text  and  in  the  plates,  which  an  eye-witness  of  the 
excavations,  Pier  Leone  Ghezzi,  denounces  as  ••'  impostures."  The 
discovery  of  an  underground  floor  is  not  mentioned  nor  illustrated 
by  Bianchini,  and  I  had  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Yerona,  Eton, 
and  Paris  to  collect  information  about  it.^  Without  entering  into 
particulars  already  published  in  the  "  Mittheilungen  "  of  1894,  I 
will  merely  mention  the  discovery  of  a  bathroom  21.30  metres  long 
and  11.50  metres  deep,  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  apartment, 
as  far  as  we  know,  in  the  whole  palace  of  the  Caesars.  The  walls 
were  incrusted  with  "  Florentine  "  mosaic  work  in  pieti-a  dura, 
alternating  here  and  there  with  marble  bas-reliefs  set  in  a  richly 
carved  frame,  and  with  niches  for  statues.  A  colonnade  of  por- 
phyry shafts,  each  two  feet  in  diameter,  ran  along  three  sides  of 
the  hall ;  while  on  the  f oui'th  side  five  lions'  heads  of  gilt  bronze 
threw  jets  of  water  into  a  marble  basin.  Each  fountain  was  flanked 
by  ten  columns  of  porph^Ty,  sei'pentine,  giallo,  verde,  and  pavo- 
nazzetto,  with  capitals  and  bases  of  gilt  bronze.  The  roof  (frag- 
ments of  which  lay  scattered  on  the  pavement  inlaid  with  crusts 
of  the  rarest  breccias)  seems  to  have  been  divided  into  panels, 
some  of  which  contained  mythological  groups  in  fresco  painting, 
others  figurines  of  white  stucco  on  a  heavily  gilt  ground. 

All  these  treasm-es  were  destroyed  in  May,  1721.  An  English 
artist,  E.  Kirkall,  who  has  left  two  rare  coloi'ed  prints  of  this  hall, 
says  in  the  footnote,  ''  The  plan  of  Augustus's  (Domitian's)  bath, 

1  The  memory  of  the  find  was  lost  altogether  by  the  houses  of  Parma  and 
Naples  and  by  their  diplomatic  agents  in  Rome,  so  much  so  that  in  18-35 
another  search  was  made  in  the  same  spot,  naturally  without  results. 


162       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

found  underground  on  the  east  side  of  the  Pahitine  hill  in  Rome 
in  the  year  1721,  and  barbarously  defaced  and  broken  in  pieces 
during  the  conclave  of  that  year,  and  the  broken  pieces  sent  to 
Parma." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  underground  portion  of  Domitian's 
palace,  without  which  we  shall  never  be  able  to  understand  the 
working  and  mechanism  of  Roman  Imperial  state  life,  should  be 
still  buried  under  a  mass  of  rubbish.  The  only  rooms  now  visible 
(under  the  west  wing  of  the  peristyle  —  very  damp  and  chilly) 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it :  tliey  belong  to  a  private  mansion  of 
the  late  Republic,  which  Domitian  left  undisturbed  because  it  lay 
below  the  level  of  his  artificial  platform.  The  discoverers  of  1720 
misnamed  it  the  Baths  of  Livia  (see  Fig.  60).  The  first  room  at 
the  foot  of  the  (modern)  stairs  was  decorated  with  arabesques  and 
festoons  on  a  ground  of  gold ;  the  second  with  groups  of  figurines 
on  a  blue  ground  ;  the  ornaments  of  the  ceilings  were  also  worthy 
of  the  golden  age  of  Augustus.  Owing  to  the  neglect  in  which 
this  gem  of  Roman  domestic  architecture  has  been  kept  since  1726, 
the  decorations  have  nearly  disappeared. 

The  triclinium,  or  great  state  lianqueting-hall,  opens  on  the 
south  side  of  the  peristyle.  Nardini  has  identified  it  with  the 
lovis  Cenado,  in  which  the  murder  of  Pertinax  took  place,  as  de- 
scribed in  the  "  Vita,"  ch.  xi.  The  biographer  says  that  the  three 
hundred  rebels  from  the  Prjetorian  camp  entered  the  palace  by  the 
vestibule  opening  on  the  Forum  Palatinum,  and  rushed  through 
the  locus  qui  appellatur  Sicilia  to  the  lovis  Cenatio,  where  they 
met  with  their  Imperial  victim.  If  the  lovis  Cenatio  is  the  name 
of  the  dining-room,  that  of  Sicilia  must  belong  to  the  peristyle. 
Nothing  remains  to  tell  us  how  this  hall  was  decorated  save  two 
fragments  of  granite  columns,  of  which  there  must  have  been 
sixteen.  The  pavement  of  the  apse,  where  the  table  of  honor  was 
set,  is  well  preserved,  but  the  administration  is  compelled  to  keep 
it  covered,  to  save  it  from  frost,  rain,  and  the  hands  of  tourists. 
It  is  made  of  crusts  of  porphyry,  serpentine,  giallo,  and  pavo- 
nazzetto  in  imitation  of  geometrical  patterns.  The  small  tri- 
angidar  cabinet,  on  the  left  of  the  apse,  was  probably  a  latrina. 
The  dining-room  was  necessarily  connected  with  kitchens  and 
pantry,  haunted  by  hundreds  of  coci;  but  here  again  we  are  left 
in  the  dark  because  the  excavations  have  stojjped  at  the  wrong 
level.  The  tombstones  of  members  of  the  Imperial  household, 
collected  in  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  pp.  11.50-1204  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscrip- 
tionum,"  mention    among  other  officers   several  members  of  the 


THE    PALACE    OF   DOMITIAN  163 

collegium  cocorum  Ccesaris  (No.  8750)  ;  a  grand  chef,  prcepositus 
cocorum  (No.  875'2) ;  cooks  that  the  Emperors  had  purchased  or 
obtained  from  the  Cornufician  and  Sestian  families  (Nos.  8753, 
8754) ;  a  butler  a  cena  centurionum  (No.  8748),  viz.,  for  the  service 
of  the  officers  of  the  bodyguard  on  duty  at  the  palace ;  a  super- 
intendent of  the  wine-cellars  (No.  8745)  ;  a  Gemellus  prcejmsilus 
argenti  potorii,  keeper  of  silver  drink ing-cups  (No.  8729) ;  an 
Ulpius  Ilierax,  keeper  of  gold  plate  and  cups  (No.  8733)  ;  a  i7-iclini- 
archa  or  chief  butler  (No.  1884)  ;  a  keeper  of  lamps  (No.  8868) ; 
keepers  of  table-linen,  bakers,  pastry-cooks,  and  jn-cegustatores. 
Princes  and  jjrincesses  of  the  Imperial  family  had  their  own 
special  cooks  like  the  Zethus,  No.  8755,  who  calls  himself  cocus 
Marcellce  minoris. 

In  the  portion  of  the  Imperial  palace  or  palaces  visible  to  us 
there  is  no  room  for  the  lodging  and  keeping  of  such  a  powerful 
army  of  servants  as  we  know  to  have  been  attached  to  the  court. 
The  columbaria  of  servants  and  freedmen  of  Augustus  and  Livia 
on  the  Appian  Way  —  described  in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  130  —  con- 
tained about  six  thousand  cinerary  urns.  The  number  must  have 
been  doubled  under  the  extravagant  nde  of  Nero  and  Caligula ; 
and  yet  not  half  of  the  Palatine  was  built  over  in  those  days. 
There  are  many  mysteries  to  be  solved  before  we  gain  a  satisfac- 
tory knowledge  of  the  material  organization  and  working  of  the 
Imperial  Court. 

There  is  one  more  hall  of  the  olKia  Aofienavov  to  be  visited  on 
the  right  of  the  triclinium.  It  was  used  as  a  ni/mphceum,  where 
the  water,  playing  in  various  ways,  the  light,  filtering  through 
bushes  of  exotic  plants,  the  perfume  of  rare  flowers,  and  the 
balmy  air  adnutted  through  Cizycene  windows,  made  the  post- 
prandial siesta  most  agreeal)le.  The  fountain  is  elliptical  in 
shape,  with  inches  and  recesses  for  flower-jjots  and  statuettes. 
The  pavement  is  inlaid  with  the  most  rare  bits  of  oriental  ala- 
baster. Upon  it  were  lying  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  (1862) 
two  pieces  of  fluted  columns  of  giallo  brecciato,  and  a  statue  of 
Eros  with  large  wings,  restored  by  Karl  Steinhauser,  and  removed 
to  the  Louvre.  Froehner  (Musee  National  du  Louvre,  Sculjsture 
antique,  p.  311,  No.  325)  describes  it  as  "un  torse  grec  d'une 
exquise  delicatesse  de  ciseau.  De  la  main  droite  levee,  Eros  ado- 
lescent versait  du  vin  dans  une  coupe."  The  statue  has  been  illus- 
trated by  Froehner  himself  in  the  "  Illustration,"  1867,  p.  1-52,  and 
by  Henzen  in  the  "  BulL  Inst.,"  1862,  p.  227. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  the  palace  of 


164      THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

Domitiiiu  is  syuimetrical  in  all  its  parts,  and  tliat  a  room  of  the 
same  style  and  size  as  this  Nymj)hieum  is  lying  buried  under  the 
Convent  of  the  Visitation  (Villa  Mills). 

On  the  edge  of  these  ruins  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese  raised 
a  casino,  the  north  portico  of  which  was  painted  in  arabesques  by 
a  pupil  of  Taddeo  Zuccari.  The  panels  represent  vEneas  visiting 
J^vander,  Cacus  stealing  the  oxen  of  Hercules,  Evander  sacrificing 
to  Hercules,  the  grotto  of  the  Lupercal,  the  foundation  of  Rome, 
subjects  drawn  from  the  Virgilian  reminiscences  of  the  Palatine. 

The  works  of  art  discovered  in  the  Palace  of  Domitian  are 
scattered  to  the  four  winds.  The  basalt  statues  of  Hercules  and 
Apollo,  found  in  1724,  are  in  the  Museo  di  Antichita  at  Parma, 
together  with  other  architectural  and  ornamental  marbles ;  more 
pieces  were  removed  to  the  Palazzo  Farnese  at  the  end  of  last  cen- 
tury. Napoleon  III.  presented  to  the  Louvre  the  most  rare  and 
beautiful  results  of  his  excavations  (November  4,  1861,  to  April, 
1870)  ;  even  the  small  but  highly  interesting  local  museum  founded 
by  Commendatore  Rosa  (catalogued  in  the  Guida  del  Palatino,  p. 
52)  has  been  dispersed,  and  its  contents  have  lost  their  individu- 
ality in  the  great  collections  of  the  Museo  Nazionale  alle  Terme. 

As  to  the  fate  of  the  fresco  paintings  discovered  behind  the 
lararium  in  1721-25,  I  quote  this  passage  from  Winckelmann's 
"  Storia  delle  Arti,"  ed.  Fea,  vol.  iii.  p.  105,  §  26 :  "A  hall  forty 
feet  long,  with  the  walls  entirely  covered  with  frescoes,  was  un- 
earthed on  the  Palatine  in  1724.  The  panels  were  separated  by 
columns  (in  the  so-called  grotesque  style)  very  thin  and  long. 
The  panels  detached  from  the  walls  went  first  to  Parma,  then  to 
Naples,  together  with  other  rare  objects  inherited  from  the  Farnese. 
But  as  they  were  kept  in  their  boxes  for  twenty-four  years,  the 
mildew  and  damp  effaced  every  trace  of  them,  except  in  the  case 
of  a  small  Caryatid,  which  is  now  exhibited  at  Capo  di  ^Nlonte." 

All  writers  on  the  Palatine  describe  some  exquisitely  carved 
marbles,  spoils  of  the  excavations  of  1725,  which  had  been  laid 
aside  by  the  Uccelliera ;  and  Luigi  Rossini  has  illustrated  them 
in  one  of  the  best  jjlates  of  his  work  "  I  Sette  Colli."  Twenty-four 
pieces  were  shipped  to  Naples  in  1787,  by  order  of  Carlo  Paniceri, 
agent  of  the  king;  the  others  were  removed  to  the  Palazzo  Far- 
nese about  1830.  In  May,  1834,  Count  Ludolf,  the  Neapolitan 
envoy,  asked  leave  of  Gregory  XVI.  for  the  removal  to  the  Museo 
Borbonico  of  this  last  remnant  from  the  Palatine.  The  govern- 
ment had  not  courage  to  refuse,  and  tried  to  throw  the  responsi- 
bility on  a  committee  of  experts.     The  commissioners  in  this  case 


THE    GARDEyS    OF   ADONfS  165 

gave  the  goveniiueiit  a  good  lesson.  Their  report,  signed  by  Carlo 
Fea,  the  veteran  defender  of  our  archaeological  patrimony,  contains 
these  words:  "Carlo  Fea  begs  to  be  excused  for  not  giving  his 
consent  to  the  removal,  because  these  marbles  are  essential  parts 
of  the  Imperial  palace,  and  must  be  left  where  they  belong  for 
the  use  of  archaeologists,  historians,  and  artists,  who  could  never 
understand  the  architecture  and  the  ornamentation  of  those  noble 
ruins  without  them.  We  must  not  renew  the  example  of  Absyrtus 
and  Orpheus,  whose  limbs  were  torn  to  pieces  and  scattered  far 
and  wide." 

A  last  observation  about  the  Palace  of  Domitian  and  the  Far- 
nese  gardens  in  general.  The  rubbish  or  newly  made  ground 
which  covers  the  ruins  is  not  entirely  local,  but  has  been  brought 
there  from  various  parts,  fi'om  the  foundations  of  the  Chiesa  del 
Gesii,  built  by  the  same  cardinal  (1.375)  and  by  the  same  archi- 
tect (Vignola),  from  those  of  the  Palazzo  Farnese,  etc.  Under 
the  rule  of  the  Frencli  invaders,  1809-14,  the  earth  from  the  ex- 
cavations of  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Kome  was  deposited  in  the 
strip  of  land  between  the  Xova  Via  and  the  Palace  of  Caligula. 

REFERE^•CES.  —  Francesco  Bianthini,  //  palazzo  dei  Cesari,  Veroua,  1738, 
chap.  V.  p.  48.  — Wilhelm  Henzen,  Ann.  Inst.,  1862,  p.  225;  1865,  p.  346.— 
Friedlaencler,  Jfaurs  Romaints,  vol.  i.  p.  156.  —  Wilhelm  Froehner,  V IlluMm- 
tion,  1867,  p.  152. 

XX.  The  Gardens  of  Adonis  (Ilorti  Adonfea  —  Vigna  Bar- 
berini).  —  Domitian  added  to  the  comfort  and  luxury  of  the 
state  apartments  gardens  laid  out  in  Oriental  style,  and  called 
"  Horti  Adon.Ta."  ^  He  had  borrowed  the  idea  from  the  Assyrians, 
who  dedicated  such  places  to  Adonis,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Sun  and  the  promoter  of  vegetable  life.  Amongst  their  specialties 
were  the  ktjttoi  'ASwciSos,  large  pots  of  clay,  sometimes  of  brass  and 
silver,  in  which  fennel,  lettuce,  and  other  special  plants  were  sown 
on  the  approach  of  the  anniversary  feast  of  the  god.  The  Palatine 
gardens  are  represented  in  a  fragment  of  the  marble  plan,  Jordan's 
"  Forma,"  pi.  10,  n.  44,  reproduced  on  the  next  page  (Fig.  61). 

Where  were  the  horti  located?  The  answer  is  not  so  easily 
given  :  perhajis  they  were  laid  out  in  the  corner  of  the  hill  above 
the  Coliseum,  which  had  already  been  incorporated  in  the  Impe- 

1  Philostratus,  in  the  Life  of  ApoIIuniii.^  of  Tyana,  vii.  32,  mentions  not  gar- 
dens but  avKrtv  'ASaJct^os,  which  means  either  a  hall  or  a  villa:  m  the  first  case 
the  indication  of  Philostratus  might  be  referred  to  the  hall  designed  in  Fig.  61 
in  the  middle  of  the  gardens;  in  the  second  case  it  refers  to  the  gardens  them- 
selves. 


166       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

rial  domain  by  Nero,  and  which  is  tlie  only  one  that  the  plan  fits. 
This  rectangnlar  space,  supported  by  great  substruction  walls,  is 
the  property  of  the  Barberini,  and  is  called  either  the  Vigna  di 
S.  Sebastiano  or  Vigna  dell'  Abbadia. 

A  visit  to  this  lovely  spot  is  necessary  to  complete  our  study 


Fig.  61.  —The  Horti  Adonaea,  a  Fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan  of  Rome. 

of  the  Palatine.  No  special  permission  is  required,  and  the  gate 
—  Via  di  S.  Bonaventura,  No.  3  —  is  usually  kept  open  ;  but  the 
gardener  has  acquired  the  habit  of  asking  exorbitant  fees.  It  is 
better  to  address  one's  self  to  the  keeper  of  the  Cappella  di  S.  Se- 
bastiano. on  the  left  of  the  entrance. 

The  topographers  of  the  Renaissance  have  given  this  Vigna 


THE    GARDENS    OF   ADONIS 


167 


Barberini  the  iiauip  of  Foro  A^ecchio,  derived  obviously  from  the 
Curi»  Veteres,  which  were  located  at  this  very  corner  of  the  hill. 
Lucio  Fauno  (Antichita,  p.  106)  says  "in  molti  istromenti  antichi 


(S.  Bonaventura) 


(Villa  Mattel -Mills) 


(Modern  Street) 


FORO    VECCHIO 

CCLXX 

(Vigna    Barberini) 

o 
o 
o 


U 


^ 


^ 


rniTTT' 


B 

Fig.  62.  —  Plan  of  the  Horti  Adona?a  (?),  according  to  Ligorio. 

di  notai  si  truova  questo  luogo  cognominato  alia  Curia  Vecchia."  ^ 

Ligorio  (Bodleian,  f.  55)  gives  the  plan  of  the  ruins  here  presented 

(Fig.  6'2),  stating  at  the  same  time  that  their  condition  was  such 

1  In  deeds  and  records  of  notaries  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 


168       THE  RUINS  AXD  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

that  he  could  not  vouch  for  the  exactness  of  his  survey.  Flavio 
Biondo  (Rom.  Inst.,  i.  76),  who  visited  the  place  at  the  time  of 
Eugenius  IV.  (1431-39),  speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the  best  preserved 
and  most  imposing  parts  of  the  Palatine :  "  Remarkable  ruins 
they  are,  with  marble  doors  in  the  circuit  of  the  walls,  finer  and 
more  perfect  than  any  others  to  be  found  in  Rome."  In  chap.  ix. 
part  i.  of  "  Fabiola,"  Cardinal  Wiseman  gives  a  charming  descrip- 
tion of  this  spot,  where  he  supposes  that  his  hero  Sebastian  was 
quartered ;  and  in  chap.  xxv.  part  iii.  desci'ibes  his  martyrdom  in 
the  "  court  of  the  palace  near  his  own  dwelling,  planted  with  rows 
of  trees  and  consecrated  to  Adonis,"  and  "  that  ancient  chapel 
which  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  ruined  Palatine,  to  mark  the  spot 
on  which  he  fell."  The  Acts  of  Sebastian  are  not  altogether  trust- 
worthy, having  been  written  in  the  fifth  century,  but  their  topo- 
graphical indications  are  genuine.  They  place  the  scene  of  the 
martyrdom  in  hippodromo  palatii;^  and  we  know  from  other 
sources  that  this  was  precisely  the  name  given  to  the  present 
Vigna  Barberini  from  the  fall  of  the  Empire  to  the  tenth  century, 
when  it  was  transferred  to  the  so-called  Stadium. 

In  the  appendix  to  the  "  Piante  di  Roma,"  the  late  Comm.  de 
Rossi  has  published  a  curious  description  of  the  Palatine,  written 
at  the  foot  of  a  map,  in  twelve  numbers,  corresponding  to  those 
marked  in  the  map  itself.  It  is  a  document  of  the  Byzantine 
period.  After  describing  the  atrium,  the  throne-room,  the  basilica, 
the  banqueting-hall,  etc.,  of  the  Palace  of  Domitian,  it  passes  to 
the  house  of  Augustus  (VII),  to  the  great  baths  of  the  Palace  of 
Severus  (VIII),  to  the  stadium  or  gymnasium  (IX),  to  an  un- 
known coquina  (X),  to  the  great  reservoir  of  the  Aqua  Claudia  at 
S.  Bonaventura  (XI)  ;  and  beyond  it,  viz.  at  the  corner  of  the  hill 
above  the  Meta  Sudans,  it  places  the  hippodromum. 

References.  —  Pirro  Ligorio,  Cod.  Bodl.,  f.  .55.  Cod.  Turin.,  xiv. — 
Francesco  Bianchini,  Palazzo  dei  Cesari,  p.  139,  sq.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma 
Urbis  Romce,  tab.  x.  n.  44,  p.  59.  —  Gaston  Boissier,  Promenades  archiol.,  p. 
132,  n.  1.     Melanges  de  V Ecole  frangaise,  avril  1893,  pp.  101-104. 

XXI.  The  pi'esence  of  a  memorial  to  Sebastian,  the  gallant 
officer  who  gave  his  life  for  his  faith,  in  the  very  gardens  (the 
hippodrome  of  later  days)  in  -which  church  traditions  place  the 
scene  of  his  execution,  proves  how  well  founded  is  the  tradition. 
The  chapel,  the  earliest  mention  of  which  dates  from  the  eleventh 
century,  was  restored  in  1636  by  Prince  Taddeo  Barberini.     We 

1  Bolland,  Acta  SS.,  u.,  Jan.,  p.  278.  —  Mabillon,  Mtis.  ital.,  ii.  pp.161, 
574. — Jordan,  Topographie,  ii.  384. 


THE    CHURCH   OF   S.    C.ESARIUS   IN  PAL  AT  10 


169 


could  not  make  our  study  of  the  Palatine  complete  without  noti- 
cing the  three  ecclesiastical  buildings  which  made  this  cornel*  of 
the  hill  famous  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

A.  EccLESiA  S.  C.ESARii  IX  Palatio  (the  Imperial  Christian 
oratory  and  Christian  representative  of  the  classic  Lararium). — 
It  is  first  mentioned  in  the  time  of  Phocas  (603),  but  it  may  be 
older.  The  titular  saint  is  believed  to  be  Caesarius,  an  African 
deacon,  who  suffered  martyrdom  at  Terracina;  but  it  is  evident 
that,  whoever  he  may  be,  his  name  was  selected  to  suit  the  place 
to  which  the  chapel  belonged.  Such  coincidences,  which  almost 
amount  to  jeu  tie  mots,  are  by  no  means  fortuitous.  The  remains 
of  the  villa  near  Velitrae,  where  Augustus  passed  his  youth, 
are  actually  called  S.  Cesario.^     The  images  of  the  Byzantine 


Fig.  63.  —The  Church  of  S.  Caesarius  in  Paliitio. 

Emperors  were  exhibited  in  this  chapel,  as  a  mark  of  the  power 
they  still  claimed  over  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Empire ;  and 
their  keeping  was  intrusted  to  Greek  monks  ordinis  saccitarum, 
a  name  perhaps  derived  from  the  ample  fi'ocks  they  wore.  Saint 
Saba  junior,  sent  on  a  diplomatic  mission  from  Amalfi  to  Otho 

1  The  following  distich  was  engraved  on  the  door  of  the  church  of  S. 
Martina,  huilt  on  the  site  of  the  Martisforuin  (Marforio):  Martyrii  gtstans 
cirgo  Martina  coronam,  Eiectv  hiiic  Martis  numine  templet  tenes. 


170       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

III.  in  989-991,  died  while  a  guest  of  these  monks,  and  his  funeral 
was  attended  by  Otho's  Empress  Theophania.  "  The  monks,"  says 
Anselmus  of  Avelbury,  "  use  the  fermented  bread  for  the  Holy 
Communion,  instead  of  the  azym,  without  the  pope  or  the  Roman 
Catholics  taking  offense  at  it."  The  last  mention  of  8.  Cesario 
occurs  in  the  fourteenth  century,  when  there  was  but  one  offici- 
ating priest  left. 

The  site  of  this  historical  sanctuary,  seen  and  described  only 
iive  centuries  ago,  is  not  known  to  us ;  but  1  am  inclined  to  place 
it  among  the  remains  of  the  so-called  baths  of  Heliogabalus  on 
the  Sacra  Via,  represented  in  the  cut  above. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  object  of  this  edifice  in  classic 
times  (third  century  after  Christ),  there  is  no  doubt  that  it 
was  transformed  into  a  church  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century. 
At  the  time  of  its  discovery  in  1872  many  particulars  could  be 
traced  which  have  now  disappeared :  patches  of  Byzantine  mosaic 
in  the  floor,  traces  of  inscriptions  and  paintings,  not  to  speak  of 
the  secretarium  and  of  the  baptistery.  The  apse  and  the  presby- 
terium  are  still  discernible,  as  well  as  many  rooms  and  cells  suited 
for  the  abode  of  monks.  No  name  has  yet  been  given  to  this 
church  :  that  of  S.  Csesarius  in  Palatio  seems  the  most  appropriate, 
especially  if  we  consider  how  close  it  is  to  the  Tui-ris  Chartularia, 
the  great  mediaeval  stronghold  of  the  popes. 

B,      MONASTERIUM      QUOD      PALLADIUM     DICITUR     (cliapcl     and 

monastery,  variously  called,  of  S.  Maria  in  Pallara;  of  SS.  Sebas- 
tiano  and  Zotico ;  of  S.  Sebastiano  alia  Polveriera ;  of  S.  Andrea 
in  Palladio,  etc.).  —  The  first  mention  occurs  in  documents  of  the 
year  1001,^  but  it  may  belong  to  the  Constantinian  era,  that  is  to 
say,  to  the  group  of  memorials  raised  under  that  Enq^eror  to  the 
heroes  and  heroines  of  the  last  persecution  of  Diocletian. 

The  monastery  was  fortified,  or,  to  speak  more  exactly,  was 
included  in  the  Palatine  fortifications  of  the  Frangipani.  In 
describing  the  election  of  Pope  Gelasius  II.  (1118),  the  "Liber 
pontificalis"  (ed.  Duchesne,  vol.  ii.  p.  313)  calls  it  locum  iutissimum 
infra  domos  Leonis  el  Cencii  Frniapane.^  Later  on  it  became 
the  official  residence  in  Rome  of  the  abbots  of  Monte  Cassino. 
Under  Urban  V.  (1362-70)  we  find  it  intrusted  to  the  care  of  a 
single  clergyman,  Angelo  Riccardelli.  The  ruins  of  the  church, 
on  the  walls  of  which  the  history  of  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Zoticus 

1  Pertz,  Monumenta  Germanice  historica,  vol.  iv.  p.  7G8. 

2  Ceiicio  Frangipane  is  the  same  to  whom  the  monks  of  S.  Gregory  leased 
the  Septizonium  and  the  tower  of  the  Circus  Maximus  in  1145. 


THE    MONASTERY    OF   S.  MARIA    IN   PALLARA        171 

was  painted,  are  described  by  Baronio.  At  tlie  time  of  Urban 
VIII.  the  building  was  entirely  profaned  and  turned  into  a  farm- 
house. Michele  Lonigo  saw  on  the  spandrils  of  the  front  of  the 
tribune  two  remarkable  figures  :  one  representing  a  certain  Petrus 
illustris  medicus,  a  mediaeval  restorer  of  the  church,  offering  a 
model  of  it  to  S.  Sebastian ;  the  other  his  wife  Giovanna  offering 
other  gifts  to  S.  Zoticus. 

Pope  Barberini  and  his  nephew  Taddeo  restored  the  chapel 
in  1636,  destroying  at  the  same  time  all  traces  of  the  frescoes, 
except  those  of  the  apse.  They  had  been  copied,  however,  in 
1630  by  Antonio  Ecclissi;  but  he  failed  to  catch  the  spirit  and 
the  meaning  of  the  subjects,  as  we  can  ourselves  judge  from  the 
facsimiles  which  are  now  exhibited  in  the  chapel. 

The  frescoes  of  the  apse  represent  the  Saviour  between  SS.  Law- 
rence, Stephen,  Sebastian,  and  Zoticus,  the  last  two  wearing  the 
costume  of  the  court  officers  of  the  fifth  century.  There  is  a 
lower  belt  of  figures  painted  in  the  eleventh  century  at  the  expense 
of  the  monk  Benedictus. 

The  two  columns  of  breccia  corallina  on  the  altar  were  probably 
removed  from  the  upper  cloisters  of  the  house  of  the  Vestals.  The 
halaustri  in  front  of  it  are  cut  in  the  rarest  kind  of  lumachella. 

The  monastery  had  its  own  cemetery,  where  burial  was  carried 
on  in  the  Roman  fashion,  the  corpses  being  protected  by  a  double 
row  of  tiles  placed  in  a  slanting  position.  The  cemetery  was  dis- 
covered on  May  24,  1879. 

C.  The  Turris  Chartularia  (the  centre  of  the  fortifications 
of  the  Frangipani,  in  which  the  archives  of  the  church  were  kept 
for  a  long  time).  — The  foundations,  built  of  chips  of  marble,  si- 
lex,  and  travertine,  rest  on  an  ancient  bed  of  concrete,  and  are 
flanked  by  huge  blocks  of  peperino,  belonging  to  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator.  (See  Book  Til.  §  viii.)  The  date  of  its  construc- 
tion is  not  known.  In  1167  Pope  Alexander  III.,  persecuted  liy 
the  partisans  of  Barbarossa,  found  shelter  in  it.  The  name  of 
Chartularia  is  derived,  according  to  Marini,  from  a  manufacture 
of  papyrus-paper ;  according  to  Cancellieri  from  the  archives 
which  it  contained.  The  cut  (Fig.  64)  shows  the  state  of  the 
tower  in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  which  it  had  been  reduced  by 
Brancaleone  in  1257.  Valadier  destroyed  the  rest  in  1829.  A 
detailed  account  of  it  is  given  by  Nibby,  "  Roma  Antica,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  471. 

References.  —  Louis  Duchesne,  Bulletin  critique,  1885,  p.  417.  —  Gio.  Bat- 
tista  de  Rossi,  Bullet,  crist.,  1867,  p.  15  ;  and  Notizie  Scavi,  December,  1883.  — 


172      THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

Enrico  Stevenson,  //  cimitero  di  Zutico,  Modena,  1871,  p.  71  ;  and  Bull.  arch, 
com.,  1888,  p.  295.  —  Mariano  Avmellini,  Chiese  di  Roma,  '2d  ed.,  pp.  517,  524. 
—  Heinricli  Jordan,  Topogi-aphie,  vol.  ii.  p.  609.  —  Pasquale  Adinolfi,  Roma 
neW  eta  di  mezzo,  vol.  i.  pp.  392-397. 


M^^ 


Fig.  64.  —  The  Torre  Cartularla  in  tlie  Sixteeiitli  Century. 


XXIT.  The  so-called  Stadium  (Xystus).  —  The  name  of 
Stadium  has  been  given  to  the  circus-like  ediiice,  160  metres  long 
and  47  wide,  which  sejmrates  the  house  of  Augustus  from  the  Baths 
of  Septimius  Severus.  The  giving  of  this  name  seemed  justified 
first  by  the  oblong  shape  of  the  place,  with  a  sliglitly  cui-ved  end  ; 
secondly,  by  the  measure  of  160  metres,  which  comes  very  near 
that  of  a  stadium  (177.40)  ;  thirdly,  by  the  two  fountains  which 
occupy  the  place  of  the  goals.  Professor  Marx,  on  the  other  side, 
thinks  the  name  to  be  wrong,  and  that  the  place  was  a  garden,  a 
xystus  with  a  gestatio,  etc.,  attached  to  the  house  of  Augustus. 
The  question  is  too  technical  and  minute  to  be  treated  in  these 
pages.  One  theory  does  not  absolutely  exclude  the  other.  For 
the  sake  of  clearness  1  shall  follow  the  old  denomination,  without 
taking  any  responsibility  for  it. 


THE    SO-CALLED    STADIUM  173 

The  foundation  of  the  Stadium  is  attributed  to  Doniitian  while 
rebuilding  the  Donius  Augustana.  The  style  of  the  brickwork  is 
the  same  in  both,  and  so  are  some  of  the  brick  stamps  from  the 
kilns  of  T.  Flavins  Clonius  and  T.  Flavius  Hermes,  freedmen  of 
the  Emperor.  By  a  close  examination  of  the  structure  in  its 
present  state  we  can  reconstruct  its  history  from  the  time  of  Do- 
mitian  (if  not  of  Augustus)  to  that  of  Theodoric.  Originally  it 
was  nothing  but  a  level  space  of  ground,  perhaps  laid  out  in  grass 
and  flower-beds,  inclosed  by  a  wall  slightly  curved  at  the  western 
end.  There  was  no  portico,  no  seats,  no  steps,  nothing  character- 
istic of  a  place  of  public  meeting.  Hadrian  probably  built  the 
two-storied  portico,  as  shown  by  the  style  of  masonry  and  by  the 
brick-stamps  of  the  years  123-134:,  found  in  great  numbers  in  the 
excavations  of  1871  and  1893.  Septimius  Severus  improved  the 
aspect  of  the  Stadium  by  the  addition  of  an  Imperial  tribune  or 
hejtedra.  The  lower  arcades  of  the  portico  rest  on  half  columns 
coated  with  slabs  of  portasanta,  the  bases  of  which  are  hollow, 
and  fit  into  the  masonry  like  half-rings.  One  of  tlie  capitals  dis- 
covered in  1868  by  Yisconti  is  cut  out  of  a  block  quarried  a.  d. 
195  under  the  consulship  of  Scapula  Tertullus  and  Tineius  Cle- 
mens. The  portico,  thei-efore,  was  included  by  Septimius  Severus 
in  his  general  reconstruction  and  embellishment  of  the  place.  A 
prefect  of  the  city  of  the  fourth  century  made  other  restorations, 
if  we  may  believe  the  words  of  a  fragmentary  inscription  discov- 
ered in  1878.  Last  of  all.  King  Theodoric  tried  to  stop  the  ruin 
and  the  fall  of  this  part  of  the  Imperial  buildings.  His  name  has 
been  read  many  times  on  bricks  discovered  by  Visconti  in  1868 
and  by  myself  in  1877.  Theodoric  seems  to  have  propped  with 
buttresses  the  walls  which  threatened  to  collapse,  and  to  have 
also  transformed  the  plan  and  the  destination  of  the  building. 
The  arena,  once  used  for  athletic  s^jorts  or  for  flower-beds,  was  then 
occupied  by  a  large  oval  basin,  which  we  would  call  a  swimming- 
bath  were  it  not  for  the  absence  of  a  water-tight  floor ;  probably 
it  was  meant  for  a  small  amphitheatre.  It  is  highly  interesting 
to  the  student  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  Imperial  Rome  to  ex- 
amine the  work  of  Theodoric  in  its  details.  First  of  all,  when 
the  basin  was  built,  the  floor  of  the  Xystus  was  already  covered 
with  a  bed  of  rvibbish  from  two  to  three  feet  thick,  as  we  can 
certify  by  comparing  the  level  of  the  original  marble  pavement 
with  that  of  the  foundations  of  the  oval.  These  foundations  are 
built  of  chips  and  blocks  of  porphyry,  serpentine,  giallo  antico, 
and,  above  all,  of  pieces  of  cipoUino  columns,  belonging  to  the 


174      THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

second  floor  of  the  portico.  The  Stadium  therefore  must  have 
been  half  ruined  iu  Tlieodoric's  age,  probably  in  consequence  of 
the  earthquake  mentioned  in  the.  contemporary  inscriptions  of 
the  Coliseum.!  Another  circumstance  deserving  notice  is  that 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  ring  there  are  two  marble 
pedestals  removed  from  the  house  of  the  Vestals,  and  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  Coelia  Claudiana,  virgo  vestalis  maxima.  In 
adapting  them  to  their  new  object,  Theodoric's  masons  did  not 
even  take  time  and  care  to  erase  the  name  of  the  illustrious 
abbess. 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  fate  of  the  building  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  document  of  the  eightli  century  produced  by  De  Rossi 
(Piante  di  Roma,  p.  127),  of  which  mention  has  been  made 
above,  describes  it  as  a  gpnnasium,  viz.  locus  diver-sis  exercitationum 
yeneribus  deputatus.  In  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century  it  was  occu- 
pied by  a  colony  of  stone-cutters  and  lime-burners,  whose  sheds 
and  workshops  were  seen  and  described  in  the  excavations  of  1877. 
The  floor  around  the  sheds  was  covered  with  chips  and  fragments 
of  statues  and  architectural  marbles.  When  we  recollect  that 
there  were  on  each  tier  of  the  portico  eighty-six  columns,  and 
over  a  thousand  feet  of  richly  carved  marble  cornice,  and  marble 
roofs,  and  marble  parapets,  floors,  and  incrustations,  and  number- 
less statues  and  bas-reliefs,  of  which  hardly  a  trace  is  left,  the 
magnitiide  of  the  work  of  destruction  needs  no  comment.  There 
is  an  altar  left  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  arena,  which  they 
had  begun  to  hammer  and  split,  when,  for  a  reason  unknown  to 
us,  the  work  of  destruction  was  suddenly  given  up.  To  one 
object  only  they  seem  to  have  paid  respect,  namely,  the  beautiful 
statue  of  Juno,  discovered  March  3,  1878,  and  now  exhibited  in 
the  Museo  delle  Terme."  We  found  it  lying  on  two  supports 
(cuscini)  of  stone,  on  which  it  had  been  placed  so  carefully  that 
not  even  the  most  delicate  folds  of  the  peplum  had  suffered 
damage  from  the  operation.  The  photograph  of  this  masterpiece 
is  given  in  the  "  Notizie  "  for  1879,  pi.  1,  n.  2.  A  regular  search 
for  plunder  was  opened  in  15.52  by  Alessandro  Ronconi.  Julius  III. 
being  engaged  at  that  time  in  building  his  famous  Villa  Giulia, 
outside  the  Porta  del  Pojiolo,  a  campaign  was  opened  against  the 
antique  monuments  of  the  city  by  all  those  wishing  to  please  the 
pope,  or  to  make  money  by  dealing  with  him  in  marbles  for  the 
palace,  or  in  statues  and  inscriptions  for  the  ornamental  grounds 
by  which  it  was  surrounded.  The  tombs  of  the  Via  Flaminia  at 
1  Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  1716,  a,  b. 


THE   SO-CALLED    STADTU.lf 


175 


Torre  di  Quinto,  the  remains  of  the  gardens  of  Domitia  in  tlie 
Vigna  of  Bindo  Altoviti  (Prati  di  Castello),  the  Baths  of  the 
Aqus  Albula^  near  Tivoli,  the  Baths  of  Agrippa  behind  the  Pan- 
tlieon,  the  Villa  of  the  Acilii  on  the  Pincian,  the  ruins  of  Porto  and 


Fig.  G5.  —  Headless  Statue  of  a  Muse  discovered  in  the  so-called  Stadium. 

Ostia,  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Villa  Colonna,  and  the 
stadium  of  the  Palatine  were  put  to  ransom.  Between  ]\Iay  and 
July,  1552,  Alessandi-o  Ronconi  sold  to  the  pope  columns  of  cipol- 


176       THE   RUINS   AND   EXCAVATIONS  OF   THE  PALATINE 

lino,  pedestals  and  bases,  and  even  the  gutter  of  white  marble 
which  carried  off  the  drippings  from  the  roof  of  the  portico. 

Francesco  Ronconi,  son  or  nephew  of  Alessandro,  was  more  suc- 
cessful in  his  excavations  of  1570.  Their  results  are  thus  de- 
scribed by  Flaminio  Vacca  (Mem.  77)  :  "  I  remember  the  finding 
in  the  Vigna  Ronconi  of  eighteen  or  twenty  mutilated  statues  of 
Amazons  (Danaids),  somewhat  larger  than  life-size.  In  the  same 
place,  and  exactly  under  the  wine-press,  which  Ronconi  was  re- 
pairing at  the  time,  the  Hercules  of  Lysippus  was  discovered." 
The  fate  of  the  Danaids  is  unknown,  except  that  in  the  account 
books  of  Cardinal  Ippolito  d'  Este  the  following  entry  has  been 
discovered  by  Professor  Venturi :  "  March  5, 1.570  :  To  expense  for 
statues,  seventy-five  scudi  to  Francesco  Ronconi  and  Leonardo 
Sormano  for  a  life-size  statue  of  an  Amazon." 

Pius  IX.  in  1868,  Commendatore  Rosa  in  1872,  and  the  Italian 
government  in  1877,  1878,  and  1893,  have  liberated  the  Stadium 
once  for  all  from  its  heavy  pall  of  ruins.  No  other  part  of  the 
Palatine  impresses  us  more  vividly.  There  is  no  break  in  the 
inclosure  wall,  nor  in  the  colonnade  of  the  lower  portico,  although 
many  of  the  shafts  are  only  a  few  feet  high  :  the  remains  of  the 
Imperial  hexedra  tower  at  tlie  height  of  120  feet.  The  east  end 
of  the  portico  is  especially  well  preserved  and  so  are  the  meta? 
in  the  shape  of  fountains,  and  some  of  the  monuments  which 
mark  the  middle  line  of  the  arena. 

The  hexedra  deserves  a  few  words  of  description.  There  is  a 
ground  floor,  level  with  the  arena,  with  a  middle  hall  of  good  size, 
and  a  smaller  room  on  each  side  of  it.  The  pavement,  the  marble 
incrustations,  and  the  paintings  of  the  hall  have  been  destroyed, 
with  the  exception  of  the  frescoes  in  the  lunette  of  the  vault. 
They  would  hardly  be  noticeable,  owing  to  their  bad  style  and 
imperfect  preservation,  were  it  not  for  a  rare  and  perhaps  unique 
representation  of  a  terrestrial  globe  fixed  to  the  circle  of  the  hori- 
zon, which  rests  on  three  pegs.  This  globe  shows  how  wide-spread 
in  Roman  schools  was  the  theory,  known  and  supported  since  the 
time  of  Aristotle,  that  the  earth  was  a  sphere. 

This  hall  formed  part  of  the  castle  of  the  Frangipani,  facing 
the  monastery  of  SS.  Andrea  e  Gregorio  in  Clivoscauri.  In  the  ex- 
cavations of  1871  some  thirty  skeletons  of  men  who  seem  to  have 
perished  in  their  youth  were  found  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  on  the 
right ;  some  of  the  skulls  bore  marks  of  blows  and  cuts  from 
battle-axes  or  swords.  We  thought,  while  gazing  at  these  remains, 
that,  during  one  of  the  bloody  contests  which  every  now  and  then 


THE   SO-CALLED   STADIUM 


111 


marked  the  election  of  a  pontiff,  these  young  warriors  had  lost 
their  lives  in  the  defense  of  the  stronghold  of  the  Septizoniuni, 
and  had  been  buried  in  haste  under  the  Imperial  tribune.  The 
vaulted  ceiling  of  the  hall  must  have  been  intact  at  that  time, 
because  the  skeletons  were  found  covered  by  great  masses  of 
masonry. 

The  small  room  on  the  right  was  never  finished  and  its  floor 
never  paved ;  the  other  one,  on  the  contrary,  is  nicely  painted  and 


Fig.  66. 


-  Female  head  of  Greek  workmanship  discovered  in  the  so-called 
Stadium. 


has  a  mosaic  floor  with  festoons  and  birds  in  black  and  white. 
There  are  graflati  on  the  plaster  to  the  left  of  the  entrance,  among 
which  is  a  roll  of  names  followed  by  a  cipher.  The  names  may  be 
of  athletes  or  sportsmen,  and  the  figures  may  refer  to  their  con- 
tests or  to  the  victories  won. 


178       THE    RUINS   AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE  PALATINE 

The  Imperial  box  occupied  the  whole  hemicycle  on  the  upper 
floor.  A  colonnade  of  syenite  granite  decorated  its  front,  another 
of  pavonazzetto  the  curve  of  the  apse.  Shafts,  capitals,  bases,  and 
fragments  of  the  entablature  cover  the  floor  in  front  of  it.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Hercules  of  Lysippus  discovered  by  Ronconi  in 
1570,  and  bought  by  Cosimo  III.  for  the  Pitti  Palace,  belonged  to 
one  of  the  eleven  niches  of  the  hexedi-a. 

This  statue  is  the  only  one  pertaining  to  the  Stadium  which  has 
been  taken  away  from  Rome.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  fate 
of  the  Danaids  discovered  by  the  same  Ronconi.  The  Muse  found 
by  Visconti  in  1868  and  the  Juno  of  1878  are  exhibited  on  the  west 
side  of  the  quadrangle  in  the  Museo  delle  Terme.  In  the  exca- 
vations of  1893  several  remarkable  works  of  art  came  to  light, 
namely,  a  headless  statue  of  another  Muse  (Mai'ch  29),  which  has 
been  left  on  the  sf)ot,  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  portico  ;  a  bust 
of  Antoninus  Pius;  a  torso  of  a  Faun;  and  a  superb  female  head 
of  pure  Greek  workmanship,  of  which  I  give  a  reproduction  (Fig. 
(36).  It  is  the  work  of  a  great  master  of  the  fifth  century  b.  c, 
and  may  belong  to  one  of  the  Muses  by  which  the  image  of  Apollo 
C'itharoedus  was  surrounded  in  the  neighboring  temple.  These 
marbles  are  preserved  in  the  Museo  delle  Terme. 

Rej'eren.ces.  —  Carlo  Liidov.  Visconti,  Di  un  nuovo  graffito  palatlno  (in 
Giorn.  arcad.,  vol.  Ixii.).  —  Visconti  and  \^s.\\c\a,m,  Guida  del  Palatino,  p.  87. — 
Pietro  Rosa,  Relazione  sulle  scoperte  archeologiche,  p.  78,  Rome,  1873.  —  Fabio 
Gori,  Archivio  Stoi'ico,  vol.  ii.  p.  374.  —  Henry  Deglane,  Gazette  archeologique, 
1888,  p.  216  ;  and  Melanges  Ecole  /rang,  d'e  Rome,  ix.  1889,  pp.  184-229.  — 
Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1878,  p.  66  ;  1879,  tav.  i.  n.  2  ;  1893,  pp.  31,  70,  117,  162  ; 
1894,  p.  94. — Josepli  Sturm,  Das  kaiserliche  Stadium,  Wiirzlnirg,  1888. — 
Monumenti  antichi pubblicati  per  cura  della  r.  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  vol.  v., 
189.5,  p.  17.  —  Friedrich  Marx,  Das  sogennante  Stadium  (in  Jahrbuch  des  deut- 
schen  Instituts,  1895,  p.  129).  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Mittheil:,  1894,  p.  16.— 
Christian  Huelsen,  Ibid.,  1895,  p.  276. 

XXIII.  The  Palace  of  Septimius  Severus  (sedes  Severi- 
anre).  —  Between  the  two  summits  of  the  Palatine,  the  Cermalus 
and  the  Palatium,  there  is  a  marked  difference  in  shape.  The  first 
was,  and  is  still  for  the  most  part,  surrounded  by  cliffs  which  made 
it  inaccessible ;  the  second  slopes  down  more  gently  towards  the 
Ciselian  and  the  Piscina  Publica ;  and  while  the  Imperial  buildings 
stop  with  the  edge  of  the  precipice  on  one  side,  they  descend  to 
the  bottom  of  the  slope  and  to  the  level  of  the  valley  on  the  other. 
Immense  substructures  were  raised  here  by  Septimius  Severus  and 
Caracalla  to  reach  the  average  level  of  the  other  palaces,  as  shown 
by  the  following  engraving  from  a  photograpli,  taken  from  the 


THE    PALACE    OF   SEPT IM J  US    SEVERUS 


179 


Aventine.  The  letters  AA'  mark  the  level  of  the  platform  ;  B  marks 
the  remains  of  the  Palace  of  Severus,  built  on  the  platform  ;  C, 
the  curved  end  of  the  Stadium ;  D,  the  remains  of  the  palace  of 
Augustus. 


180       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF   THE  PALATINE 

No  other  section  of  the  Palatine  has  sutt'ered  as  much  as  this  one 
from  the  action  of  time  and  from  the  hand  of  man.  By  measure- 
ments on  the  spot,  compared  with  descriptions  and  documents  left 
by  those  who  saw  the  ruins  in  a  better  state,  I  have  ascertained  that 
the  ^des  Severianse  must  have  covered  an  area  of  '24,500  square 
metres,  and  must  have  reached  the  height  of  fifty  metres  above  the 
pavement  of  the  streets  which  inclosed  them  on  two  sides.  This 
gives  a  volume  of  one  million  and  a  quarter  cubic  metres,  a  perfect 
mountain  of  masonry,  of  which  only  a  few  traces  are  left  standing 
to  tell  the  tale.  The  edge  of  the  substructures,  marked  A'  in  the 
illustration,  is  celebrated  for  its  fine  view,  which  extends  over 
hills  and  dales  as  far  as  the  coast  of  Ostia  and  Laurentum.  (See 
Ancient  Rome,  chap.  v.  p.  126.)  In  gazing  at  it  from  his  lofty 
point  of  vantage  the  reader  must  remember  that  he  is  only  level 
with  the  ground  floor  of  the  palace,  which  rose  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  metres  above  his  head.  The  ruins  were  granted  in  975 
to  the  monks  of  S.  Gregorio  by  Stephen  of  Hildebrand,  then  ruler 
of  Rome.  We  gather  from  the  act  of  donation  that  there  were 
at  that  time  thirty-eight  arches  still  standing  on  the  side  of  the 
Circus,  which  were  pojiularly  called  the  -'  Porticus  Materiani ; " 
others  were  visible  in  the  adjoining  property  of  John  de  Papa  de 
Septem  Viis.  Above  this  line  of  crypts  and  arcades  there  was  a 
strip  of  cultivated  land,  and  still  higher  up  the  bathing  apart- 
ments of  the  palace  (wit  dicilur  balneum  imperatoris). 

On  March  18,  1145,  the  rviins,  or  at  least  the  portion  of  them 
between  the  stronghold  of  the  Seiitizoniura  and  the  tower  which 
had  been  raised  over  the  triumphal  Arch  of  Titus  at  the  entrance 
to  the  Circus  Maximus,  were  leased  to  Cencio  Frangipane.  A 
century  later  the  monks  thought  it  best  suited  to  their  interests 
to  break  up  the  property  and  lease  the  crypts  and  arcades  one  by 
one.  Between  1215  and  1218  twenty-one  were  rented  individually 
for  various  purposes,  which  in  progress  of  time  were  reduced  to 
one,  for  a  hay-loft  (ad  retinendum  fenuiii)  !  One  of  the  conditions^ 
in  these  contracts  obliged  the  tenant  to  paint  the  coat-of-arms  of 
S.  Gi'egory  above  the  gate  of  the  crypt,  and  keep  it  fresh  and 
bright.  The  abuse  was  suppressed  in  1862  after  the  terrific  fire 
which  consumed  in  one  night  thousands  of  bales  of  hay,  and 
threatened  to  destroy  the  whole  mass  of  buildings. 

This  corner  of  the  Palatine  is  connected  with  two  well-known 
names,  that  of  Tommaso  Inghirami  da  Volterra,  surnamed  Fedra, 
a  famous  poet,  orator,  and  scholar  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
that  of  Marcello  Venusti,  a  painter  and  a  pupil  of  Michelangelo, 


THE   SEPTIZONIUM  181 

like  Sebastiano  del  Piombo  aud  Daniele  da  Volterra.  The  first 
owned  the  part  of  the  palace  called  balneum  imperatoris, 
which  he  sold  to  Marcello  Crescenzi,  auditor  of  Clement  VII., 
on  January  22,  1533 ;  the  second  owned  the  vigna  (marked  "  dei 
Benfratelli "  in  the  plan  facing  p.  107),  which  he  had  bought  on 
April  24,  1560,  from  Concordia  Maccarani,  widow  of  Francesco 
Cecchi. 

The  only  work  of  art  found  —  as  far  as  I  know  —  among  these 
ruins  is  a  torso  of  Minerva  with  the  aegis  dotted  with  stars. 
Paolo  Biondi  discovered  it  by  accident  on  June  5,  1823,  and  it 
was  removed  soon  after  to  the  Museo  Yaticano.  I  may  mention 
also  a  precious  gold  fibula,  a  piece  of  Byzantine  work  of  the  sixth 
century,  discovered  by  Mr.  Bliss  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  leading 
from  the  Stadium  to  the  hexedra.  It  is  now  exhibited  in  one  of 
the  ground  rooms  of  the  Museo  delle  Terme,  together  with  the 
"  tesoro  "  of  Castel  Trosino.^ 

XXIV.  The  Septizonium. —  Few  remains  of  the  Imperial 
palace,  or  indeed  of  the  whole  city,  are  as  widely  known  as  the 
Septizonium,  and  yet  archaeologists  are  still  discussing  what  the 
name  means  and  what  was  the  real  nature  of  the  edifice.  Vis- 
conti  (Guida  del  Palatino,  pp.  4!)  and  93)  thinks  that  "  Septizo- 
nium "  was  the  name  of  the  front  of  the  Palace  of  Severus  facing 
the  south,  which  was  ornamented  with  seven  rows  (septem  zonce) 
of  columns,  symbolizing  the  seven  bands  or  atmospheres  of  hea- 
ven.^  He  supports  the  theory  by  two  arguments :  first,  that  the 
hebdomadal  cycle  in  honor  of  the  seven  planets  came  into  fashion 
and  practical  use  about  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus ;  second, 
that  even  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  Septizonium  was  connected  with 
the  sun  and  the  moon.  Jordan  and  others,  on  the  other  hand, 
deny  that  there  were  seven  tiers  of  columns :  they  fix  the  maxi- 
mum at  three,  which  is  the  number  represented  in  the  earliest 
designs  of  this  noble  ruin.  Now  as  the  word  septifolium  indicates 
a  plant  with  seven  leaves,  and  the  word  septimontium  indicates  a 
group  of  seven  hills,  so  the  word  septizonium  must  indicate,  in  the 
present  case,  an  edifice  with  seven  bands  or  horizontal  lines ;  in 
other  words,  with  seven  entablatures  supjiorted  by  rows  of  columns 
one  above  the  other.  It  is  also  possible  that  the  rows  were  only 
six,  if  we  reckon  among  the  horizontal  bands  the  basement  and 

1  Referexck.  —  Benedetto  Mittarelli,  Ann.  Camaldul.  (Mittheilungen, 
1894,  vol.  ix.  p.  4). 

-  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  269,  547. 


182       THE    RUINS    AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF    THE   PALATINE 

the  stejis  of  the  structure.  Visconti  also  remarks  that  we  actually 
have  a  bona  fide  septizonium  in  the  Campanile  of  Pisa,  the  tiers 
of  which  were  only  seven  in  the  original  design  of  Wilhelm  and 
Bonanno.  The  eighth  was  added  about  a  century  later.  We  must 
remember  in  the  last  case  that  the  three  rows  of  columns,  of 
which  the  Septizonium  was  composed,  reach  only  the  height  of 
25.64  metres  above  the  level  of  the  Via  Triuniphalis.  The  existing 
remains  of  the  Palace  of  Severus  are  at  least  55  metres  high  ;  thei-e- 


Fig.  68.  —  Tlie  Remains  of  the  ^des  Severianse  and  of  the  Septizonium,  from  a  Sketch 
by  du  Cerceau. 


fore  if  the  Septizonium  was  built,  as  we  believe,  to  screen  the  con- 
fused mass  of  structures  behind,  and  to  serve  as  a  monumental 
facade  to  the  Palace  of  Severus,  it  must  have  been  higher  than 
we  supposed.  This  condition  of  things  appears  evident  in  the 
above  sketch  by  Jacques  Androuet  du  Cerceau,  which  I  borrowed 
from  his  volume  of  1560,  marked  E,  f/,  26  in  the  Cabinet  des 
Estampes,  Paris. 

As  we  have  seen  above  (pp.  178,  179),  the  line  AA'  marks  the 
top  of  the  substructures  and  the  beginning  of  the  palace.     Sup- 


THE   SEPTIZONIUM  183 

posing  the  Septizonium  to  have  been  only  three  stories  high,  it 
would  hardly  have  masked  even  the  substructures. 

The  Septizonium  was  already  in  a  ruinous  condition  at  the  end 
of  the  eighth  centiu-y.  The  inscrij^tion  engraved  in  the  frieze  of 
the  lower  colonnade  numbered  280  letters,  of  which  118  were 
copied  by  the  so-called  Einsiedlensis  on  the  extreme  left,  towards 
the  Circus  Maximus ;  45  by  the  anonymous  Barberinianus  (Cod. 
XXX.  25)  on  the  extreme  right,  towards  the  Arch  of  Coustantine. 
There  was  consequently  a  gap  of  117  letters  between  the  two  ends 
of  the  ruins,  which  were  respectively  called  '•  Septem  solia  niaior  " 
and  "  Septem  solia  minor."  The  total  length  of  the  building  being 
90  or  95  metres,  two  fifths  of  it  had  already  collapsed  in  the  eighth 
centiuy.  On  July  22,  975,  John,  abbot  of  S.  Gregory,  was  allowed 
to  destroy  the  minor  portion  ;  but  he  did  not  take  advantage  of 
the  perniission.  In  the  year  1084  Henry  IV.,  while  besieging  the 
fortress  of  Septem  Solia,  in  which  Rusticus,  nephew  of  Gregory 
Vn.,  had  sought  refuge,  caused  the  fall  of  many  columns  (quam- 
plurimus  columnas  subvertit).  In  1257  the  larger  portiofi  was 
desti'oyed  by  Senatore  Brancaleone.  The  last  remnants  disap- 
peared in  the  winter  of  1588-89  by  order  of  Sixtus  V.,  and  at  the 
hand  of  his  favorite  architect  Domenico  Fontana.  The  destruc- 
tion cost  the  pope  905  scudi,  but  he  recovered  more  than  his 
money's  worth  by  making  use  of  the  materials,  whether  blocks  of 
peperjno  and  travertino  or  columns  of  rare  marbles. 

Thh'ty-three  blocks  of  stone  were  vised  in  the  foundations  of  the 
pedestal  of  the  obelisk  in  the  Piazza  del  Popolo ;  104  of  marble 
in  the  restoration  of  the  column  of  Marcus  Am-elius,  including 
the  base  of  the  bronze  statue  of  S.  Paul ;  15  in  the  tomb  of  the 
pope  in  the  Cappella  del  Presepio  at  S.  Maria  Maggiore ;  and  an 
equal  number  in  that  of  Pius  V.  The  staircase  of  the  Casa  dei 
jNIendicanti,  or  workhouse,  by  the  Ponte  Sisto ;  the  washing- 
house,  or  lacalore,  in  the  baths  of  Diocletian ;  the  door  of  the 
Palazzo  della  Cancellaria ;  the  north  facade  of  the  Lateran  Palace, 
its  court  and  staircases ;  and  the  church  of  S.  Girolamo  degli 
Schiavoni,  had  all  theii"  share  of  the  spoils  of  the  Septizonium. 

Keferexces.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Bullettino  dell'  Instituto,  1872,  p.  145; 
and  Forma  Urbis  Romce,  pp.  37-41,  tab.  viii.  n.  -38.  —  Antonio  Bertolotti, 
Artisti  Lombardi,  vol.  i.  p.  87:  Libro  xix.  de!  cav.  Fontana  per  la  disfattura 
dolla  scola  di  Vergilio.  Milan,  Hoepli,  1881.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  Das  Sep- 
thoniu?n,  etc.:  xlvi.  Programm  ziim  Winckelmannsfeste  der  archaeologischen 
(Jesellscliaft  zu  Berlin.  188G.  —  Enrico  Stevenson,  II  settizonio  Severiano 
(Bullettino  comm.  arch.,  1888,  p.  269,  tav.  xiii.).  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  E 
Falazzo  Maggiore  (in  Mittheilungen,  vol.  ix.,  1894,  p.  4). 


184       TFIE   RUINS   AND    EXCAVATIONS    OF  THE   PALATINE 

XXV.  The  Water  Supply  and  Reservoirs  of  the  Palace. 

—  Nothing  is  known  of  the  water  supply  of  the  Palatine  before 
the  time  of  Domitian.  The  fact  that  Augustus  would  take  his 
siesta  in  summer  months  "  by  the  fountain  of  the  peristyle,"  proves 
that  his  house  was  well  provided  with  water  from  the  time  of  its 
first  construction.  After  doubling  the  extent  of  the  Imperial 
domain  on  the  hill,  Domitian  carried  a  powerful  siphon  from  the 
reservoir  of  the  Arcus  Ca?limontani  (Aqua  Claudia)  by  the  temple 
of  Claudius,  to  the  highest  point  of  the  hill  by  S.  Bonaventura. 
The  pressure  must  have  been  enormous,  as  the  siphon  crossed 
the  valley  between  the  two  hills  at  a  point  41  metres  (41.16)  be- 
low the  feeding  reservoir.  It  luust  have  reached  four  atmospheres. 
Remains  of  Domitian's  hydraulic  work  were  discovered  in  1658 
and  1742.  The  pipe,  made  of  solid  sheets  of  lead,  and  oval  in 
shape,  measured  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  could  carry  276 
unities  {oiicie)  of  water.  The  laying  of  the  siphon  had  been 
inti'usted  to  the  care  of  M.  Arrecinius  Clemens,  the  brother-in-law 
of  Titus  and  consul  a.  d.  73,  and  its  construction  to  a  plumber 
named  Postumius  Ameiimnus.  We  have  been  able  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  water  not  only  across  the  valley,  but  through  the 
various  sections  of  the  Imperial  palace.  The  pipe  supplying  the 
house  of  Augiistus  bore  the  inscription  dornvs  avgvstan.e  and 
the  name  of  Evhodas,  the  procurato?'  aquanun;  that  supplying 
the  house  of  Germanicus,  the  names  of  Eutychus,  procurator,  and 
Hymnus,  plumber ;  that  of  the  Stadium  the  names  of  Epagathus, 
procurator,  Martialis  and  Alexander,  plumbers,  and  so  forth. 

Domitian's  sijihon  is  thrown  into  the  shade  by  the  exploit  of 
Septimius  Severus.     After  rebuilding,  repairing,  and  connecting  in 


^.S.Bonaaentura  Via  di  s.\  Gregorio 

TsV.oo) 

■  DDQDDQQDGQQGG 

;  PALATINE 


250.00- 


SS.Ciouannl  e 
....Paolo 

^(53.28) 

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQ,3B.2a, 
QDDQnQQjQQQQQDQ 

QQQQ^<2..o„ 


one  mass  the  various  sections  of  the  palace,  damaged  by  the  fire 
of  Commodus;  after  raising  another  palace  of  his  own,  to  which 
the  Septizonium  served  as  a  fa9ade  ;  after  providing  the  Imperial 


THE    WATER   SUPPLY   OF    THE   PALACE 


185 


residence  with  therms  of  great  size  and  magniticence,  he  carried 
the  channel  of  the  CLiudia  from  the  top  of  tiie  Ca?lian  to  the  top 
of  the  Palatine,  making  it  span  the  valley  at  a  prodigions  height. 
The  viaduct,  composed  of  four  lines  of  arcades,  measured  at  least 
425  metres  in  length  and  42  metres  in  height.  The  sketch  on  the 
opposite  page  represents  the  portion  above  the  modei-n  Via  di  S. 
Gregorio.  The  five  arches  on  the  left  on  the  road,  shaded  in  black, 
are  still  in  existence  ;  the  six  on  the  other  side  were  destroyed,  on 
November  14, 1596,  by  Caprizio  Cornovaglia  (Cornwall),  the  owner 
of  what  is  now'  called  "Orto  Botanico." 

The  water  was  stored  in  the  great  reservoir,  afterwards  turned 
into  a  refectory  for  the  monks  of  S.  Bonaventura.  Among  the 
discoveries  made  when  the  convent  was  built,  Bartoli  mentions  a 
spigot  of  Corinthian  brass  weighing  ninety  pounds. 

References. — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  /  rnmenliirii  di  Frontino,  etc.,  Koina, 
Salviucci,  1880,  pp.  211,  234.— Kiddlliiiu  Viiiuti,  Homa  antiai,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 

XXVI.  Twomore  ^v» ^,^n>^. ,.,.•,,„ .,,  „  .,i4p- 


edifices,  or  rather 
two  parts  of  the 
same  edifice,  remain 
to  be  examined  be- 
fore we  leave  the 
Palatine  :  the  P.*> 
DAGOGiuM  and  the 
DoMus  Gklotiaxa. 
The  Domus  Gelo- 


tiana  was  purchased 
and  embodied  in  the 
crown  property  by 
Caligula,  not  for 
want  of  additional 
space  and  accommo- 
dation, but  to  satisfy 
his  passion  for  the 
races  of  the  circus, 
and  his  aifection  for 
the  squadron  of  the 

greens,  /actio  prasi-  h.hS 

na,  in  whose  stables  -v  ^ .  i     ■    ^^        .  . 

(by   SS.    Lorenzo   e  ^^^  ^'-  ^^-^^^^^ 

Damaso)      he      used  Fig.  to.  -  Plau  of  the  Domus  Gelotiana. 

to  spend  days  and  nights  indulging  in  all  kinds  of  excesses. 


The 


186       THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PALATINE 

hoiuse  adjoined  the  Circus  and  the  Carceres,  where  the  riders  were 
massed  on  race  days,  so  that  it  was  easy  for  the  young  prince  to 
join  his  friends  without  leaving  the  Imperial  palace.  The  Domus 
Gelotiana  is  composed  of  two  parts  :  one  adjoining  the  Circus, 
which  is  still  in  private  hands,  and  is  entered  from  the  gate  No. 
45  Via  dei  Cerchi.  It  contains  the  vestibule,  the  atrium,  the  tab- 
linum,  and  the  triclinium.  The  inner  part,  which  is  Government 
property,  contains  many  smaller  apartments  opening  on  a  second 
courtyard  or  peristyle,  and  it  has  become  famous  for  the  graffiti 


^KlN90l 


Fig.  71.  — One  of  the  Walls  of  the  Paedagogium  with  Greek  and  Latin  GraflSti. 

which  cover  its  walls.  We  learn  from  them  that,  after  the  death 
of  Caligula,  the  Domus  Gelotiana,  or,  at  least,  this  inner  part  of  it, 
was  turned  into  a  training-school  for  court  pages,  under  the  name 
of  Psedagogium.  The  name  occurs  very  often  in  the  graffiti :  Co- 
rinthus  exit  de  pccdagogio  !  Marianus  Afer  exit  de  jxedagogio  !  as 
if  the  boys  wanted  to  chronicle  their  liberation  from  the  rod  of 
the  master  on  the  walls  which  had  long  imprisoned  them.  There 
was  another  amusing  allusion  to  the  hardships  of  school  life, 
composed  of  a  vignette  and  its  explanation.  The  vignette  repre- 
sented a  donkey  turning  the  mill,  and  the  legend  said,  Labora, 


THE  PyEDAGOGIUM  187 

aselle,  quomodo  ego  lahoravi  et  proderit  tihi.  "  Work,  work,  little 
donkey,  as  I  have  ^A'orked  myself,  and  thou  shalt  be  rewarded 
for  it."  This  graffito  was  destroyed  by  an  unscrupulous  tourist 
in  1886.  The  most  interesting  of  the  set  is  the  one  representing 
a  caricature  of  the  Crucifixion  of  our  Lord,  discovered  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1857,  and  removed  soon  after  to  the  Kirche- 
rian  Museum  of  the  Collegio  Romano. 

The  front  part  of  the  house,  entered  by  the  Via  dei  Cerchi,  No. 
45,  was  partially  excavated  in  1888,  when  a  remarkable  set  of 
fresco  paintings  was  discovered  in  the  dining-liall,  marked  A  in 
Fig.  70. 

The  figures,  varying  in  height  from  1.60  metres  to  1.80,  rep- 
resent butlers  and  waiters  in  the  act  of  leading  the  guests  to  the 
banqueting  table.  The  tricliniarch  with  a  rod  in  his  hand  stands 
by  the  entrance  door,  whilst  other  men  are  carrying  napkins, 
wreaths,  silver  plate,  etc.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  such  an  inter- 
esting place  should  not  be  accessible  to  the  public,  and  that  the 
front  and  back  sections  of  this  historical  house  shovdd  not  be  ex- 
cavated at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  discovery  of  the  triclinium 
has  been  illustrated  by  Marchetti  in  the  "  Xotizie  degli  Scavi," 
1892,  p.  44 ;  and  by  Hiielsen  in  "  Mittheilungen,"  1894,  p.  289. 

Literature  on  the  graffiti  of  the  Pa?dagogiiim.  —  Raffaele  Garrucci,  // 
crocifisso  graffito  nella  casa  dei  Cet'dri.  Rome,  1857;  and  GraJ/iti  di  I'oinpei, 
p.  97,  plates  30,  31.  —  Ferd.  Becker,  Das  sjjott crucifix  d.  roin.  Kaiserj)al<i.<le. 
Breslau,  1866.  —  Franz  Xaver  Kraus,  Das  sjwttci-ucijix  iwin  Palatin.  Freiburg 
im  Breisgau,  1872.  —  G.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Btdl.  Inst,  1857,  p.  275;  Btdl.  crist., 
18G3,  p.  72;  1867,  p.  75.  —  C  Ludovico  Visconti,  Di  un  nitovo  graffito palati no 
(in  Giornale  areadico,  vol.  Ixii.);  and  SuUa  interpretazione  deUa  sigle.  V.  D. 
N.  dei  graffiti  2^alntini.  Rome,  1868.  —  Visconti  and  Lanciani,  Guida  del 
Pahitino,  p.'lS.  —  Fabio  Gori,  in  Giornale  arcndico,  vol.  lii.  p.  45.  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  p.  119.  — Liiigi  Correra,  Graffiti  di  lioma  (in  Bull, 
com.,  1893,  p.  245;  1894,  p.  89). 


BOOK  III 

A    WALK     THROUGH     THE     SACRA     VIA     FROM    THE     COLISEUM     TO 
THE    CAPITOLINE    HILL 

I.  The  Sacra  Via.  —  The  line  and  direction  of  the  Sacra  Via 
in  Imperial  times  is  no  longer  a  matter  for  discussion,  because, 
since  April  21,  1882,  its  pavement  has  been  laid  bare  from  one 
end  to  the  otlier,  together  with  the  remains  of  the  edifices  which 
bordered  it,  of  the  monuments  in  honor  of  different  worthies 
which  decorated  its  pavement,  and  of  the  drains  which  ran  under 
it.  The  topography  of  this  "  queen  of  streets  "  was,  however,  very 
different  in  Kingly  or  early  Republican  times.  It  can  be  made 
out  in  two  ways :  from  the  remains  of  Kingly  or  Republican 
buildings  which  ai:)pear  here  and  there,  below  the  level  of  the 
Imperial  ones  (for  instance,  under  the  house  of  the  Vestals  and 
under  the  Basilica  Julia),  or  from  the  configuration  of  the  ground. 
Geological  analysis  proves,  among  other  things,  that  the  primitive 
road  crossed  the  ridge  of  the  Velia,  not  by  the  Arch  of  Titus,  as 
it  did  afterwards,  but  fifty  metres  north  of  it,  where  the  church  of 
S.  Francesca  Romana  now  stands.  The  furrow  followed  by  the 
road  was  discovered  by  Nibby  in  1827-32  by  means  of  borings 
through  the  clay  and  marl  strata  of  which  the  ridge  is  composed. 
The  same  archaeologist  found  remains  of  private  houses  under  the 
pavement  of  the  present  or  Imperial  road.  From  these  pieces  of 
evidence  we  can  conclude  that  the  primitive  Sacra  Via  left  the 
hollow  of  the  Coliseum  at  a  point  equidistant  from  the  Colossus 
(I  in  plan)  and  the  Meta  Sudans  (II),  —  I  mention  these  monu- 
ments to  give  the  reader  some  "  points  de  repere ; "  crossed  the 
depression  between  the  Palatine  and  the  Oppian  on  the  line  of  the 
axis  of  the  Templum  Rom;Tj  et  Veneris  (IV)  ;  descended  the  north- 
ern slojie  towards  the  Forum  along  the  Porticus  INIargaritaria 
(XII)  ;  then  turned  diagonally  towards  the  Vicus  Tuscus  (XXIX), 
passing  l)etween  the  Temple  of  Vesta  (XIX)  and  the  habitation  of 
the  Pontifex  Maximus  (Regia,  XVIII).    From  the  junction  of  the 


MAP      OF     SACRA     VIA       fu,  7Z 


R  Lanriam     efe/m 


r^ 


THE   SACRA    VTA  189 

Vicus  Tuscus  to  the  Capitoliiie  hill  no  changes  seem  to  have  taken 
place.  The  whole  course  of  the  primitive  Sacra  Via  was  irregular 
and  winding  as  becomes  a  much  frequented  path  over  undulating 
ground  not  encumbered  by  buildings  or  obstacles  of  any  kind; 
but  as  soon  as  buildings  began  to  rise  on  either  side,  it  took  a 
definite  shape,  and  angles  were  substituted  for  curves  until  the 
street  was  made  to  turn  at  a  right  angle  no  less  than  five  times. 
The  transformation  was  obviously  accomplished  by  degrees :  first 
in  42  B.  c,  when  the  Temple  of  Cfesar  was  raised  on  the  spot 
wliere  his  body  had  been  incinerated,  secondly  after  the  fire  of 
Nero,  thirdly  after  that  of  Commodus,  and  lastly  after  that  of 
Carinus.  Each  of  these  calamities  gave  rise  to  a  new  "  piano 
regolatore." 

After  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  when  traffic  was  practically  reduced 
to  its  primitive  state,  and  the  glorious  monuments  of  this  "  celeber- 
rinuis  urbis  locus  "  crumbled  into  dust,  the  bend  round  the  Temple 
of  Ca?sar  was  abandoned,  and  the  traffic  resumed  the  ancient  line, 
which  was  the  easiest  and  shortest.  This  late  path  is  still  marked 
by  bits  of  rough  pavement  made  up  with  old  worn-out  paving- 
stones,  blocks  of  marble,  and  architectural  fragments. 

The  primitive  path  was  named  Sacra  Via  (tnfima,  summa,  clivus 
sneer)  because  three  very  sacred  hut  temples  stood  on  its  border : 
tlie  hut  for  pvil)lic  fire,  or  Temple  of  Vesta,  that  in  which  the 
Penates  brought  from  Troy  were  kept,  and  a  third  inhabited  by 
the  high  priest.  The  people  adopted  the  form  Sacra  Via,  instead 
of  Via  Sacra,  and  its  inhabitants  were  called  Sacravienses.  In  the 
early  days  of  Rome  it  was  divided  into  three  sections,  the  first 
from  its  origin  near  the  Sacellum  Strenia;  (site  unknown,  but  near 
the  (Jiardino  delle  Mendicant!)  to  the  house  of  the  "rex  sacrifi- 
culus  "  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  ;  the  second  from  this  house  to  the 
Kegia  or  habitation  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus ;  the  third  from 
the  Regia  to  the  summit  of  the  Capitoline  hill.  In  Imperial 
times  the  ascent  to  this  hill  was  called  cliinis  Capitoiinits.  Its  total 
length  from  the  Meta  Sudans  to  the  foot  of  ascent  was  790  metres. 
The  street  retained  its  name  at  least  up  to  the  ninth  century  after 
Christ,  as  certified  by  the  "  Liber  Pontificalis "  in  the  Life  of 
Paschal  I.  (817-824,  "ecclesia  Cosmoe  et  Daniiani  in  Via  Sacra"), 
but  its  classic  meaning  was  altogether  forgotten.  The  church  of 
S.  Cosma  and  that  of  S.  Adriano  were  called  "in  Via  Sacra" 
because  they  were  on  the  line  of  the  great  pontifical  processions, 
which  entered  the  Forum  by  the  Via  di  Marforio  and  left  it  in  the 
direction  of  the  Arch  of  Titus. 


190  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

LiTERATUKE.  —  Aiiibrosch,  Siudien  und  Andeutungen.  Breslau,  1839. — 
Adolf  Becker,  De  Muris,  p.  23;  and  Topographie,  pp.  219-243.  —  Antonio 
Nibby,  Roma  nell'  anno  1838,  part  i.  vol.  i.  p.  49. — Luigi  Canina,  Bcscrizione 
del  Foro.  Kome,  1845.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Capitol,  Forum  und  Sacra  Via, 
Berlin,  Weidmann,  1881;  and  Topograpliie,  vol.  i.  p.  155.  —  J.  Francis 
Nichols,  Tht  Roman  Forum,  pp.  277-299.  —  J.  Henry  Parker,  The  Via  Sacra 
in  Rome,  London,  1876. 

II.  The  Colossus  (colossal  statue  of  the  Sun)  (I  in  plan). — 
The  platform  of  the  Velia,  from  the  "summa  Sacra  Via"  to  the 
site  of  the  amphitheatre,  was  occupied  by  the  vestibule  of  the 
Golden  House  of  Nero,  a  square  portico  with  a  colossal  bronze 
statue  in  the  centre.  The  statue  had  been  cast  in  Rome  by  Zeno- 
dorus  in  tlie  likeness  of  Nero ;  but  after  the  death  of  the  tyrant 
the  head  had  been  changed  into  that  of  the  radiant  Sun,  1  he  face 
beai'ing  a  resemblance  to  that  of  Titus.  Vespasian  generously 
rewarded  the  artist  who  had  thus  served  the  interests  of  the 
Flavian  dynasty.  When  Martial  wrote  the  second  epigram,  "De 
spectaculis,"  about  a.  d.  75,  tlie  Golden  House  had  already  been 
pulled  down,  and  the  ground  near  the  Colossus  seems  to  have 
been  occupied  by  scaffoldings  connected  with  the  work  of  the  new 
amphitheatre.  The  statue  remained  in  its  place  until  121 ,  when 
Hadrian,  having  chosen  the  site  for  his  Temple  of  Venus  and 
Rome,  caused  it  to  be  placed  neai'er  to  the  Coliseum.  I'he  dis- 
placement was  effected  by  the  architect  De(me)trianus  with  the 
help  of  twenty-four  elephants,  the  statue  remaining  all  the  while 
uiiright  and  suspended  from  the  movable  scaffolding.  The  diffi- 
culty of  the  operation  may  be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  the 
bronze  mass  was  30.5  metres  high.  The  seven  rays  round  the 
head,  each  6. 68  metres  long,  were  a  later  addition.  The  "  Vita 
Comm."  affirms  that  the  head  was  changed  once  more  by  Commo- 
dus  to  bear  his  own  likeness.  It  is  represented  in  coins  of  Alexan- 
der Severus  and  Gordianus.  The  last  classic  mention  occurs  in 
the  Chronicon  of  Cassiodorus ;  the  first  mediaeval  record  (V)  in  a 
document  of  a.  d.  972  ("  domus  posita  Romse  regione  quarla  non 
longe  a  Colosso  ").  The  pedestal  of  the  Colossus  (I  in  plan)  was 
discovered  by  Nibby  in  1828.  It  is  built  of  concrete  with  brick 
facing,  once  covered  with  marble  slabs. 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  nelV  anno  1838,  part  i.  vol.  ii.  p. 
442.  —  Fr.  Morgan  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  294.  —  J.  H.  Parker, 
The  Via  Sacra  in  Rome,  London,  1876,  plate  38.  —  Donaldson,  Arvhiicctura 
numism.,  n.  79.  —  De  Rossi,  Piante  di  Roma,  p.  76,  n.  1. 

III.  Meta  Sudans  (II  in  plan),  a  fountain  called  7nf'ta  from 


THE   ARCH   OF    CONST  ANT  IX  E  191 

its  shape  like  a  goal  of  the  circus,  or  from  its  location  at  the 
meeting  point  of  four  regions,  II,  III,  IV,  X,  and  sudans  from  the 
playing  of  its  water  in  sprays  and  cascades.  The  Chronicon  of 
Cassiodorus  names  Domitian  as  its  founder,  and  the  year  97  as  the 
date  of  its  construction.  Perhaps  Domitian  only  enlarged  and 
embellished  a  fountain  akeady  existing,  because  a  meta  of  pyra- 
midal shape  appears  in  the  medal  struck  in  the  year  80  for  the 
dedication  of  the  Coliseum ;  and  besides  Seneca,  who  died  in  65, 
mentions  the  neighborhood  of  the  foimtain  as  the  place  where 
people  would  try  new  bugles  and  flutes,  and  make  an  unbearable 
noise  (Ep.  Ivi.  5).  The  round  basin  of  the  present  day  dates  from 
the  time  of  Constantine,  When  Ficoroni  excavated  it  for  the 
first  time  in  1713,  there  Avere  six  metres  of  rubbish  around  the 
meta.  It  is  represented  in  the  marble  mouth  of  the  well  of  the 
Vatican  museum,  Corridoio  delle  Iscrizioni,  compartment  XIII., 
right  side,  the  photograph  of  which  is  marked  Xo.  4(371  in  Park- 
er's collection.  Xibby,  however,  declares  that  this  meta  is  the 
work  of  a  modern  restorer.  A  church  of  S.  Maria  de  Meta  is 
mentioned  by  Armellini  (Chiese,  2d  ed.  p.  522). 

LiTKRATUKE.  —  Coheii,  Motin.  imp.,  vol.  i.  p.  •i62,  n.  18-t;  p.  359,  n.  1G3. — 
Donaldson,  Arch,  numism.,  n.  79.  —  Ficoroni,  Vestujit  di  Roma,  vol.  i.  p.  3G.  — 
Allierto  Cassio,  Corso  delle  acque,  vol.  ii.  p.  194.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  nell' 
anno  183S,  part  i.  vol.  i.  p.  370. 

IV.  The  Arch  of  Coxst.\xtixe  (III  in  plan).  —  The  origin 
of  this  noble  monument  is  described  in  "  Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,"  p.  20.  It  was  raised  in  a.  d.  815  to  commemorate  the  vic- 
tory of  the  first  Christian  Emperor  over  ^Maxentius,  with  marbles 
taken  at  random  from  other  pul)lic  and  private  monuments.  The 
bas-reliefs  of  the  Attic,  the  statues  of  the  Dacian  kings,  the  eight 
medallions  above  the  side  arches,  the  eight  columns  of  giallo 
antico,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  entablature  were  removed  from 
a  triumphal  arch  of  Trajan,  probably  from  the  "  Arcus  divi  Trai- 
ani  "  which  spanned  the  Via  Appia  near  the  Porta  Capena.  A 
piece  of  the  inscription,  probably  from  the  same  arch,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Coliseum. ^ 

The  two  bas-reliefs  on  each  side  of  the  middle  passage  are  at- 
tributed by  Xibby  to  the  time  of  Gordianus  the  younger,  all  the 
rest  to  the  time  of  Constantine.  The  inside  of  the  strticture  is  also 
built  with  a  great  variety  of  materials  taken  from  monuments 
belonging  to  the  Fabii  and  to  the  Arruntii,  the  carvings  and 
1  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1880,  217,  n.  9. 


192  A    WALK   THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

inscriptions  of  which  are  still  perfect.  The  bricks  alone  are  con- 
temporary with  Constantine,  and  are  stamped  with  the  well-known 
seal  OF(Jicin(e)  s(«crfc)  R^atiorris). 

The  name  of  the  pious  Emperor  saved  the  arch  from  destruction 
in  the  darkest  period  of  mediaeval  history.  A  little  church  dedi- 
cated to  the  Saviour  also  shielded  it  from  damage  ;  it  was  called 
S.  Salvatore  de  Trasi  from  the  name  of  Arcus  Traseus,  or  Arco 
de'  Trasi,  given  to  the  monument  in  the  twelfth  century,  perhaps 
from  the  statues  of  the  Thracian  (Dacian)  jirisoners  which  stand 
on  the  attic. 

Giovio  and  others  have  accused  Lorenzino  de'  Medici,  the  mur- 
derer of  Duke  Alessandro,  of  having  decapitated  the  statues  and 
some  of  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  arch.  He  was  capable  of  the  deed,  but 
the  charge  is  not  proved.  The  heads  were  not  removed  to  Flor- 
ence :  in  fact,  no  one  has  ever  traced  them ;  one  only  was  found 
buried  deep  in  the  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  arch  about  1795. 
The  state  of  the  sculptures  in  the  sixteenth  century  is  most  care- 
fully reproduced  in  a  drawing  of  the  Laing  collection  at  Edin- 
burgh (vol.  xi.  pi.  24).  Paul  III.  removed  the  earth  which  covered 
the  arch  up  to  the  plinth  of  the  columns,  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  triumphal  entry  of  Charles  V.  Clement  VIII.  laid  hands  on 
one  of  the  columns  of  giallo  antico,  to  make  it  pair  with  another 
from  the  Forum  of  Trajan,  and  placed  both  under  the  organ  in  the 
transept  of  the  Lateran. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1139.  —  De  Rossi,  Bull,  crht.,  18G.3, 
p.  49.  —  Rohault  de  Floiirv,  L'aix  de  Constaniin  (in  Revue  archeol.,  Sept. 
1803,  p.  250).  —  Wilhelm  Henzen,  Bull,  inst.,  1863,  p.  183.  —  Antonio  Nibby, 
Roma  nell'  anno  1838,  part  i.  vol.  i.  p.  443.  —  Beschreibumj  der  Stadt  Rom,  iii. 
1,  p.  314. — Antonio  Guattani,  iJown  rfescrzVia,  i.  p.  41.  —  Theodor  Schreiber, 
Berichten  der  k.  sachs.  Geselhclwft  der  Wissenschaften,  April,  1892,  p.  121.  — 
Eugfene  Petersen,  Mhtheil.,  1889,"  p.  314. 

The  "  conservatori  "  of  Rome  and  Clement  XTT.  ordered  a  gen- 
eral restoration  of  the  arch  in  17S1.  The  works  were  superin- 
tended by  Marchese  Alessandro  Capponi,  who  made  use  of  a  co- 
lossal piece  of  the  marble  entablature  of  the  Neptunium  which 
had  just  been  found  near  the  Piazza  di  Pietra.  The  missing  column 
was  replaced,  although  of  different  marble  ;  the  heads  of  nine 
Dacian  kings  and  one  of  the  statues  (the  third  on  the  S.  Gregorio 
side)  were  replaced.  The  position  of  the  latter  was  occupied  by  a 
fragment  which  is  now  kept  in  the  Capitoline  museunt.  The  words 
"  ad  arcvm"  are  engraved  on  its  plinth,  an  address  for  the, porters 
who  had  to  remove  it  from  the  sculptor's  studio  to  the  arch. 


THE   ARCH   OF   COXSTANTINE 


19^ 


194  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

The  Arch  of  Constantine  has  been  a  favorite  subject  for  artists 
since  the  early  Renaissance.  It  appears  many  times  in  the  back- 
ground of  famous  pictures,  like  the  "  Dispute  of  S.  Catherine," 
by  Pinturicchio,  in  the  Appartamento  Borgio  ;  or  in  the  "  Castigo 
del  Fuoco  Celeste,"  by  Sandro  Botticelli,  in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  of 
which  I  give  a  rejiroduction. 

When  I  first  visited  the  staircase  and  the  rooms  in  the  attic 
story,  on  February  27,  1879,  the  first  signature  of  a  visitor  which 
struck  me  at  the  first  landing  was  that  of  INIichelangelo,  dated 
14U4:  (genuine  ?).  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  elder  and  Cherubino 
Alberti  have  also  left  accounts  of  their  exploration  of  those  rooms. 

V.  vEdes  Rom.k  et  Veneris  (Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome) 
(IV  in  plan),  designed  and  built  by  Hadrian  on  the  site  of  the 
vestibule  of  the  Golden  House.  —  As  the  Temple  of  Castor  and 
rollux  was  named  in  progress  of  time  from  Castor  alone,  so  that 
of  Venus  and  Rome  is  called  simply  templum  Urhis  by  the  "  Vita 
Hadriani,"  Urhis  fanum  and  delubrum  Itomce  by  others.  The  foun- 
dation stone  was  laid  on  the  birthday  of  Rome,  April  21,  a.  d. 
131,  and  the  dedication  solemnized  in  135.  Antonio  Nibby,  who 
led  the  excavations  of  the  temple  from  November,  1827,  to  Decem- 
ber, 1829,  found  many  brick  stamps  of  123,  and  a  few  of  124.  Dion 
Cassius  relates  that,  when  the  work  was  already  in  progress,  Ha- 
drian submitted  his  drawings  to  Apollodorus  of  Damascus,  the 
illustrious  architect  of  Trajan's  Forum,  whom  in  a  fit  of  jealousy 
he  had  already  banished  to  a  remote  island.  The  architect  did 
not  disguise  his  opinion  :  the  statues,  he  said,  were  too  large  for 
their  niches,  and  the  temple  ought  to  have  been  raised  much 
higher  so  as  to  be  seen  to  greater  advantage  from  the  side  of  the 
Clivus  Sacer.  This  arrangement,  besides,  would  have  permitted 
the  construction  of  caves  and  vaults  under  the  foundation,  use- 
ful botli  for  storing  the  machinery  of  the  ampbitheati-e  and  for 
preparing  it  out  of  sight  for  immediate  use.  It  is  related  that  the 
great  man  paid  for  his  criticism  with  his  life. 

The  temple  was  brought  to  perfection  by  Antoninus  Pius,  on 
whose  medals  it  appears  with  the  legend  romae  aeternae  v^e- 
NERi  FELici,  perha^js  the  very  one  engraved  on  either  front  of  the 
structure.  Having  been  greatly  injured  by  fire  in  807,  it  was  re- 
stored by  Maxentius,  whose  brick  stamps,  0¥F(icina')  s(ummae') 
R(ei),  F(ecj<)  DOM(i7ms),  ai"e  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  walls 
of  the  double  cella.  Ammianus  Marcellinus  includes  it  among  the 
1  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  294. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    VENUS   AND   ROME 


195 


marvels  of  Kome  (a.  d.  356).  In  391  it  was  closed  and  abandoned 
to  its  fate,  but  the  solidity  of  the  building  was  such  that,  two  cen- 
turies later,  we  find  it  still  intact.     Pope  Honorius  I.  (625-040) 


196  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE    SACBA    VIA 

obtained  from  the  Emperor  Heraclius  the  gilt-bronze  tiles  of  the 
roof,  which  he  removed  to  that  of  S.  Peter's.  Many  of  these 
were  carried  off  by  the  Saracens  in  the  loot  of  846  ;  those  left  on 
the  roof  of  the  nave,  seen  and  described  by  Grimaldi  in  1606, 
must  have  been  melted  by  Paul  V.,  together  with  the  other  bronzes 
of  the  fountain  of  Symmachus.  (See  Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,  p.  136.)  Paul  I.  (757-767)  built  a  church  in  honor  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul  on  the  vestibule  of  the  temple  facing  the  Forum, 
where  the  fall  of  Simon  the  Magician  was  believed  to  have  taken 
place.  Two  small  cavities  in  one  of  the  paving-stones  of  the 
Sacra  Via  were  shown  to  the  faithful,  as  the  marks  left  by  the 
knees  of  the  prince  of  the  Apostles,  while  jiraying  for  the  discom- 
fiture of  the  impostor.  The  stones  are  still  kept  in  the  present 
church  of  S.  Francesca  Romana,  on  the  right  of  the  tomb  of 
Gregory  XI.  The  chapel  of  Paul  I.  did  not  last  long :  at  the 
time  of  Leo  IV.  (847-8.55)  its  place  was  occupied  by  the  church  of 
S.  Maria,  called  Nova,  in  opposition  to  that  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua, 
still  existing,  behind  the  remains  of  the  Augustaeum.  The 
present  edifice,  dedicated  to  S.  Francesca  Romana,  dates  from  the 
time  of  Paul  V.,  1612. 

All  these  chapels  and  churches  were  built  at  the  expense  of  the 
temple.  Nibby  says  that  the  bed  of  rubbish  immediately  above 
the  antifpie  pavement  was  composed  of  architectural  fragments, 
split  and  charred ;  that  he  found  in  1810  a  lime-kiln  near  the  Arch 
of  Titus,  bordered  by  pieces  of  precious  columns  of  porphyry  —  a 
material  refractory  to  fire  —  and  filled  with  sculptiired  fragments  ; 
and  that,  while  restoring  the  church  of  S.  Francesca  in  1828  and 
1829,  he  found  the  walls  built  with  pieces  of  marble ;  yet  enough 
plunder  was  left  among  the  ruins  of  the  temple  to  satisfy  the 
greed  of  scores  of  modern  excavators.  Flaminio  Vacca  could  pur- 
chase about  1.575  slabs  of  Greek  marble  from  the  pavement  of  the 
cella  facing  the  Coliseum,  which  he  descril)es  as  a  "  cosa  stupenda." 
Ligorio  says  that  pieces  of  columns  and  of  the  entablature  found 
by  the  monks  of  S.  Maria,  in  adding  a  wing  to  their  convent,  were 
made  use  of  in  the  "  fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro."  Other  beautiful  mar- 
bles are  described  and  designed  by  the  Gobbo  da  Sangallo.  An 
oval  basin  of  a  fountain  of  oriental  granite,  5.57  metres  in  diame- 
ter, discovered  also  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  "  ruinato  dalle 
scellerate  mani  "  of  the  excavators.  At  last,  when  these  vandals 
thought  that  nothing  was  left  to  plunder  above  ground,  they  at- 
tacked the  foundations  of  the  portico  and  temple,  which  were  built 
of  blocks  of  travertine  or  peperino !     Not  one  is  left  in  situ.     The 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    VENUS   AND   ROME 


197 


annexed  plan  explains  the  form  and  architectiu-e  of  the  building, 
The  portico  inclosing  the  temenos  had  columns  of  gray  granite, 
seventy-two  pieces  of  which  have  escaped  destruction,  simply 
because  they  were  unfit  for  the  lime-kiln,  and  too  hard  to  be  made 


Fig.  75.  —  Bas-relief  with  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome. 

use  of.  If  these  columns  were  raised  into  their  former  position, 
as  has  been  done  with  those  of  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  the  Temple  of 
Venus  and  Eome  wovild  become  the  most  picturesque  ruin  of  this 
classic  district.  The  peristyle  of  the  double  cella  was  made  of 
shafts  of  cipollino,  six  feet  in  diameter.  There  is  one  fragment 
lying  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  platform,  which  the  stone-cut- 
ters engaged  in  the  repairs  of  S.  Paolo  fuori  le  Mura  had  begun 


198  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

to  saw,  to  make  discs  for  the  pavement  of  that  church.  This  last 
act  of  destruction  was  stojiped  by  Carlo  Fea,  then  Superintendent 
of  Antiquities,  who  broke  the  saw  and  put  the  stone-cutters  to 
flight. 

The  drains  which  run  parallel  with  the  wings  of  the  portico  are 
beautifully  j^reserved ;  they  are  2.70  metres  high  and  0.90  wide,  and 
the  tiles  of  their  roofs  are  marked  with  the  consulates  of  Paetinus 
and  Apronianus  (a.  d.  123),  and  Servianus  III.  and  Varus  (125). 
The  north  corner  of  the  platform  is  built  over  the  remains  —  still 
visible  through  a  trap-door  —  of  a  jirivate  mansion.  They  include 
part  of  the  atrium  with  the  impluvium  paved  with  pieces  of  blue, 
green,  and  white  enamel. 

The  temple  is  represented  in  a  bas-relief,  formerly  in  the  Muti 
house.  Piazza  della  Pescheria,  and  now  half  in  the  Museo  delle 
Terme,  half  in  the  Lateran !  An  illustration  of  it  was  given  by 
Professor  Petersen  in  the  "  Mittheilungen  "  of  1896.    (See  Fig.  75.) 

Literature.  —  Dion  Cassius,  Ixix.  5.  —  Amm.  Marcelliu.,  xvi.  10.  —  Fla- 
miiiio  Vacca,  Memorie,  n.  73.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Miscdlanea,  vol.  i.  p.  85,  note  («); 
Varieta  di  Notizie,  p.  137. — Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  723.  —  J.  H. 
Parker,  Archceology  of  Rome,  vol.  ii.  p.  86.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Z'  itinerario 
di  Ehmedlen,  pp.  62-67;  Melanges  de  I' Ecole  frangaise  de  Rome,  IBlll,  p.  164, 
pi.  3.  — F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  293. 

VI.  So-called  Baths  of  Heliogabalus,  and  Church  of  S. 
Cesakio  in  Palatio  (V  in  plan).     See  p.  169. 

VII.  TuRRis  Chautularia  (VI  in  plan).     See  p.  171. 

VIII.  The  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator  (VII  in  plan).  —  The 
Tiu'ris  Chartularia  marks  most  likely  the  site  of  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator,  and  the  blocks  of  j)eperino  of  which  its  founda- 
tions are  built  belong  probably  to  the  cella.  The  temple  vowed  by 
Komulus,  during  his  first  encounter  with  the  Sabines  in  tlie  valley 
of  the  Forum,  was  only  built  in  296  by  M.  Atilius  Regulus. 
Classics  place  it  near  the  Mugonia  gate  of  the  Palatine,  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  [Nova  Via,  near  the  highest  point  of  the 
Sacra  Via,  and  within  the  limits  of  the  fourth  region.  The  four 
indications  concur  in  loca.ting  the  temple  on  the  site  of  the  Turris 
Chartularia,  side  by  side  with  the  Arch  of  Titus ;  and  in  precisely 
this  position  do  we  find  it  in  the  famous  pictorial  bas-relief  of  the 
Haterii,  exhibited  in  the  tenth  room  of  the  Lateran  ISluseum. 
According  to  this  sculptural  sketch,  the  temple  was  of  the  Co- 
rinthian order,  and  hexastyle,  the  front  facing  the  north.     It  is 


THE    TEMPLE    OF  JUPITER   STATOR 


199 


liai'dly  necesyary  to  reniiud  the  reader  that  a  certain  mass  of 
concrete  at  the  entrance  of  Domitian's  palace  on  the  Palatine  hill, 


Fig.  76.  — Arch  of  Titus  —  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator  in  the  Bas-relief  of  the  Haterii. 

described  in  books  and  shown  to  visitors  as  the  Temple  of  Stator, 
lias  nothing  in  common  witli  it.  That  mass  of  concrete  belongs 
to  the  foundations  of  one  of  the  towers  built  by  the  Frangipani 
to  make  their  Palatine  stronghold  a  locus  tullssinius. 

I^ITKRATUI^E.  —  I'jiiil  Briinn,  Annall  dcW  Inst.,  vol.  xxi.  1849,  p.  370. — 
Ileinricli  Jordan,  Topoyrajihie,  \~,  p.  277.  —  Wolfgang  Helhig,  Guide  to  the 
Public  Collections  of  Rome,  vol.  i.  p.  4f)G,  n.  (571.  —  Fuvma  f'rbis,  pi.  xxix. 


11  \'igna  Barberini.  S.  Sebastiano  Lii  Pallara 

LlLLUiJiLL 


II 


TKMPI.E    OF   .IUpItEB   STATOB  f 


Fig.  77.  —  Plan  of  Neighborhood  of  the  Arch  of  Titus. 


IX.     The  Arch  of  Titus  (VIII  in  plan). — It  stands  at  the 
west  corner  of   the   great  platform   of  Venus   and   Rome  at  the 


200 


A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 


highest  point  of  the  Sacra  Via;  it  is  called,  therefore,  Arcus  in 
Sacra  Via  Summa  in  the  bas-relief  of  the  Haterii  reproduced  above. 


The  title  of  divus  (deified)  given  to  the  conqueror  of  Judaea  in  the 
inscription  of  the  attic  (Corpus,  vol.  vi.  n.  945),  as  well  as  the  relief 
of  his  apotheosis,  shows  that  the  monument  was  finished  only  after 


THE   ARCH   OF   TITUS  201 

his  death.  The  style  is  that  prevalent  in  Domitian's  time,  with 
a  superabundance  of  carving  in  the  architectural  lines.  Having 
been  included  in  the  fortifications  of  the  Frangipani,  it  suffered 
great  damage  during  the  fights  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies. To  insm-e  its  safety  after  the  demolition  of  the  tower  and 
houses  by  which  it  was  partly  supported,  Giuseppe  Valadier  took 
down  the  whole  structure  piece  by  piece  in  1822,  strengthened  the 
foundations,  and  reconstructed  it  in  its  present  form,  completing 
the  missing  parts  in  travertine  so  as  to  make  them  easily  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  originals,  which  are  in  pentelic  marble.  The 
bas-reliefs  on  the  left  represent  the  triumph  of  Titus,  those  on  the 
right  the  spoils  taken  from  the  Temple  of  Zion,  like  the  seven- 
branched  candlestick  (from  which  comes  the  name  of  Arcus  Septem 
Lucernarmn  given  to  the  arch  in  the  Middle  Ages),  the  golden 
table,  the  silver  trumpets,  etc.  These  spoils  were  deposited  in  the 
Temple  of  Peace  in  a.  d.  75,  five  years  after  the  conquest  of  Judaea, 
together  with  a  marvellous  collection  of  works  of  art,  which  in- 
cluded a  statue  of  Naukides  fi'om  Argos,  a  figure  of  the  Nile  sur- 
rounded by  the  sixteen  infants  all  cut  in  a  single  block  of  basalte 
ferrigno,  the  lalysos,  a  celebrated  pictiire  of  Protogenes,  the  ScyUa 
of  Nikomachos,  the  Hero  of  Parrhasios,  and  many  other  master- 
pieces. All  these,  except  the  Jewish  relics,  perished  in  the  fire  of 
191.  They  ultimately  fell  the  prey  of  Genseric  and  were  landed 
safely  at  Carthage  in  455,  where,  eighty  years  later,  Belisarius 
recaptm-ed  them  and  sent  tliein  to  Constantinople. 

Literature. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  945  (943).  —  Flavius  Josephus, 
Jud.,  book  vii.  17. —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  490. — Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  p.  291. 

Nearly  opposite  the  arch,  at  the  corner  of  the  Porticus  Margari- 
taria  on  the  Nova  Via,  is  a  shapeless  mass  of  concrete,  believed 
to  be  the  pedestal  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  Cloelia,  described  by 
Livy,  Seneca,  Plutarch,  and  Servius.  The  surmise  is  not  improba- 
ble, especially  as  we  know  that  the  group  was  still  existing  in 
Sacra  Via  Summa  at  the  time  of  Servius,  viz.,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century.  A  centiiry  later  Cassiodorus  mentions  as  yet 
visible  in  the  same  place  a  group  of  bronze  elephants. 

Literature.  —  Becker,  De  muris  atque portis,  p.  38. —  Nichols,  The  Roman 
Fonim,  p.  311. 

X.  Basilica  Nova  (Basilica  of  Constantine)  (IX  in  plan). — 
The  space  of  ground  covered  by  this  vast  building  was  probably 
occupied  at  an  early  age  by  the  Macellum  or  Forum  Cupedinis,  a 


202 


A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 


market  for  the  sale  of  fruit,  honey,  flowers,  and  wreaths,  the  last 
inentiou  of  which  occurs  under  Augustus.  Doniitian  built  on 
part  of  the  ground  the  Horrea  piperataria,  warehouses  for  Oriental 
spices,  which  were  burnt  down  in  the  fire  of  191,  together  with 
many  private  houses,  one  of  which,  discovered  in  1811  under  the 
right  aisle,  is  described  by  Fea  (Varieta  di  Notizie,  p.  24).  I  have 
myself  seen  traces  of  other  buildings,  on  the  occasion  of  repairs 
made  to  the  water-pipe  which  supplies  the  fountains  of  the  Palatine 
and  which  crosses  the  basilica  diagonally.  The  basilica  was  begun 
by  Maxentius  and  finished  by  Constantine,  partly  with  materials 


Fig.  79.  —  Plan  of  Constautiue's  Basilica. 


found  on  the  spot,  partly  with  bricks  made  expressly  in  one  of  the 
ufficince  summce  rei.  Hundreds  of  these  were  found  in  the  ex- 
cavations of  1880.  It  seems  that  when  Maxentius  lost  his  life 
in  the  battle  of  October  27,  312,  the  basilica  was  very  nearly  com- 
pleted, as  is  shown  by  the  discovery  of  a  silver  medallion  —  bear- 
ing the  legend  maxentius  v{ius)  ¥(elix)  aug(w*/m^-)  —  in  1828,  in 
a  block  of  masonry  fallen  from  the  highest  i^oint  of  the  building. 

The  basilica  had  a  nave  and  two  aisles.  The  noble  vaulted  ceil- 
ing of  the  nave,  eighty-two  metres  long  and  twenty-five  broad,  was 
supported  by  eight  fluted  columns  of  Proconnesian  marble,  of 
which  only  two  appear  in  the  vignettes  and  designs  of  the  Renais- 


THE   BASILICA    OF   CONSTANTINE 


203 


sance.  Such  is,  for  instance,  a  sketch  by  Bramante  in  the  Uffizi  col- 
lection (No.  1711),  which  shows  one  between  the  first  and  second 
arches,  with  its  capital  and  entablature,  and  another  without  capi- 
tal between  the  second  and  third.  This  last  must  have  disappeared 
at  the  time  when  Sangallo  the  elder  was  directing  the  works  of 
S.  Peter's;  certainly  he  made  use  of  its  base,  which  is  described  by 


Fig.  80.  — The  Basilica  of  Constantine  at  the  time  of  Paul  V. 


Dosio  as  "  larga  piedi  8  dita  7  .  .  .  ed  e  la  basa  d'  una  delle  colonne 
.  .  .  che  fu  portata  (a  S.  Pietro)  a  tempo  che  era  architetto  el  San- 
gallo." The  other  pillar,  so  conspicuous  in  the  vignettes  of  the 
sixteenth  century  —  among  which  I  may  mention  the  one  painted 
by  Raphael's  pupils  in  the  last  room,  first  floor,  of  the  Farnesina  — 


204  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

was  removed  to  the  Piazza  di  S.  Maria  Maggiore  by  Paul  V.  in 
1613,  and  set  up  in  honor  of  the  Virgin,  as  described  in  "  Pagan 
and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  136.  We  can  account  also  for  the  fate  of 
a  third  base.  It  supplied  the  material  for  the  statue  of  Alexander 
Farnese,  now  in  the  Sala  dei  Capitani,  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori. 

The  basilica,  in  its  original  construction,  faced  the  east,  and  was 
entered  from  the  side  of  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome  by  a 
clumsy  portico  out  of  proportion  with  the  rest  of  the  edifice. 
Later  on,  a  new  entrance  was  opened  on  the  south  side  facing 
the  Sacra  Via,  and  a  new  tribune  built  in  harmony  with  it.  The 
entrance  was  decorated  with  four  large  columns  of  porphyry, 
pieces  of  which  were  found  in  1487,  1819,  and  1879,  and  restored 
to  the  place  to  which  they  belong.  Here  also  were  discovered  the 
fragments  of  the  colossal  marble  statue  of  Domitian,  now  in  the 
Cortile  dei  Conservatori. 

The  collapse  of  this  ungraceful  structure  must  date  from  a  com- 
paratively recent  time,  because  Nibby  asserts  that  he  saw  traces 
of  a  Christian  fresco  painting  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the 
north  apse.  Perhaps  the  ceiling  of  the  nave  fell  in  the  earthquake 
of  1349,  described  by  Petrarch  (Epist.  x.  2),  carrying  down  with  it 
the  greater  portion  of  the  south  aisle.  The  roof  of  the  north  aisle, 
still  perfect,  was  granted  by  the  city  in  1547  to  Eurialo  Silvestri, 
who  laid  out  a  garden  on  the  top  of  it  and  filled  it  with  antiques. 
The  basilica  itself  was  used  as  a  cattle-shed  until  1714,  when  it 
was  granted  to  Marchese  Emilio  de'  Cavalieri  for  a  riding-school. 
Ten  years  later  I  find  it  used  as  a  hay-loft  by  the  architect  Bari- 
gioni.  The  French  invaders  began  excavating  it  in  1812,  and 
Pius  VII.  continued  their  work  in  1818-19.  In  1828  Nibby  laid 
bare  the  pavement,  which  remained  in  good  condition  till  the  sec- 
ond French  invasion  of  1849.  The  basilica  having  been  selected 
as  a  drilling-place  for  French  recruits,  the  last  trace  of  the  pave- 
ment was  destroyed  about  18.54  by  the  treading  of  feet. 

Literature.  —  Carlo  Fea,  La  basilha  di  Costantliw  sbandita  dalla  via 
Sacra,  Rome,  1819;  Prodromo  di  nuove  osservazioni,  1816,  p.  24;  Miscellatiea, 
vol.  ii.  p.  47.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Delia  via  Sacra,  etc.,  p.  189;  Del  tempio  della 
Pace  e  della  basilica  di  Coslantino,  Rome,  1819;  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  238. 
—  Nicola  Ratti,  Su  le  r ovine  del  iempio  delta  Pace.  Rome,  1823.  —  Bunsen, 
Beschreibung,  vol.  iii.  11.  291.  —  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1879-80. — Rodolfo  Laii- 
ciani,  Bull,  com.,  1876,  p.  48. 

The  basilica  was  freed  from  the  granaries  and  factories  and 
ironworks  which  concealed  its  northern  apse  between  March,  1878, 
and  February,  1880,  when  the  tunnel  known  in  the  Middle  Ages 
as  the  Arco  di  Latrone  was  again  made  accessible  (X  in  plan). 


THE   BASILICA    OF   CONSTANTINE 


205 


Before  the  construction  of  the  basilica  direct  communication 
existed  between  the  Sacra  Via  and  the  region  of  the  Carina?,  the 
cross  street  passing  between  the  Forum  of  Peace  and  the  ware- 
houses for  Oriental  spices  (Horrea  piperataria).  Maxentius  brought 
his  building  into  contact  with  the  Forum  of  Peace  and  obstructed 
the  passage.  To  obviate  the  consequences  of  the  obstruction  and 
to  save  the  citizens  a  long  detour,  a  subway  was  opened  under  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  basilica.  The  subway  is  about  four  metres 
wide  and  fifteen  long ;  it  is  paved  with  tiles  inscribed  with  the 
stamp  of  the  Imperial  kilns,  off  .  s  .  r  .  f  ,  ocex  ;  the  side  walls 


Fig.  81.  — The  Arco  di  Latrone  under  the  Basilica  of  Constantine. 

are  worn  with  longitudinal  grooves  to  the  height  of  cart-wheels. 
A\'hen  the  adjoining  Temple  of  the  Sacra  Urbs  was  dedicated  by 
Pope  Felix  IV.  (526-530)  to  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damianus,  one  end 
of  the  passage  was  walled  up  and  the  passage  itself  turned  into  a 
sepulchral  cave.  Loculi  resembling  those  of  the  catacombs  are 
still  to  be  seen  in  the  upper  part  of  the  walls,  and  two  or  three 
ajipear  in  the  illustration  above.  At  a  much  later  period  hogs- 
heads of  wine  took  the  places  of  the  dead. 

This  passage  was  known  in  the  ]\Iiddle  Ages  as  the  Arco  di 
Latrone.  Pirro  Ligorio  (Bodl.,  f.  15)  speaks  of  it  as  follows: 
"  The  subway  which  we  now  call  Latrone  runs  between  the  church 


206  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

of  S.  Cosma  and  the  Temple  of  Peace  (the  Basilica  of  Constan- 
tine).  After  it  liad  served  as  a  burial-place  at  the  time  of  the 
destruction  of  Rome,  traffic  was  restored  through  it ;  but  it  was 
a  lonely,  dark  place,  and  murders  and  robberies  were  freely  com- 
mitted in  it.  To  atone  for  these  crimes,  and  to  bring  about  a 
better  state  of  things,  the  Arco  di  Latrone  was  included  in  the 
itinerary  of  the  famous  procession  of  mid- August,  when  tlie  image 
of  the  Saviour  is  removed  from  the  Lateran  to  S.  JMaria  Maggiore." 
The  procession  of  "  mezzo  agosto,"  to  which  Ligorio  refers,  was 
one  of  the  great  events  of  mediaeval  Rome ;  the  contest  for  prece- 
dence among  the  popular  corporations  afterwards  degenerated 
into  open  fights  and  bloodshed.  The  magistrates  of  the  city 
issued  regulation  after  regulation,  the  last  of  which,  engraved  on 
marble  in  the  anticpie  style,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  vestibule  of 
the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  The  regu- 
lations did  no  good  :  the  pageant  was  preceded  or  followed  by  so 
many  struggles  that  it  left  a  bloody  trail  upon  its  path.  It  was 
suppressed  in  1566  by  Pope  Pius  V. 

Literature.  —  Vincenzo  Forcella,  Iscriz.  delle  chiese  di  Roma,  vol.  i. 
n.  60,  p.  37. — Giovanni  Marangoni,  htorin  delV  oratorio  appellato  Sancfn 
Sanctorum,  p.  112.  Rome,  1747.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Archivio  della  Societa 
di  storia  patria,  vol.  iii.  p.  378;  Jtinerario  di  Einsiedlen,  p.  119. 

XI.  The  Clivus  Sacer,  or  gradient  of  the  Sacra  Via  by  the 
Basilica  of  Constantine  (XI  in  plan).  —  This  tract,  excavated 
between  March  and  June,  1878,  is  the  noblest  and  widest  of  the 
whole  line.  It  measures  23  metres  across  from  building  to  build- 
ing, and  12.35  metres  between  the  sidewalks.  Under  the  roadway 
runs  a  cloaca  2.10  metres  high,  and  0.90  wide,  built  of  bricks  and 
vaulted  over,  with  side  embranchments  to  collect  the  waters  from 
the  north  slope  of  the  Palatine  and  from  Constantine's  Basilica. 

The  left-side  pavement,  along  the  Porticus  INlargaritaria  and 
the  House  of  the  Vestals,  is  8.20  metres  wide,  and  entirely  encum- 
bered by  monuments  in  honor  of  different  people,  dating  mostly 
from  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus  and  his  successors.  There 
are  pedestals  of  single  or  equestrian  statues,  shrines,  fountains, 
hemicycles,  etc.,  which,  found  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  in 
1879  and  1882,  have  been  since  greatly  injured  by  frost  and  neglect. 
The  most  important  are :  (a)  the  pedestal  of  a  statue,  probably  of 
a  Greek  masterpiece,  set  up  by  Fabius  Titianus,  j)refect  of  the 
city  in  a.  d.  339-341,  together  with  many  others  (see  Coi'pus 
Inscriptionum,  vi.  1653)  ;  (J)  that  of  a  statue  raised  to  Constan- 
tius,  by  Flavins  Leontius,  prefect  of  the  city  in  35.5-356  ;  (c)  that 


PORTICUS   MARGARITARIA 


207 


of  a  statue  of  Titus;  (d)  an  altar  dedicated  to  the  Lares  augusti; 
(e)  a  shriue  dedicated  to  Gordianus  the  younger  by  the  people  of 
Tharsos,  together  with  his  equestrian  statue.     This  graceful  sedi- 


LJ^U ^ 


OliT     (T^         m> 


cz:: 


Fig.  82.  —Plan  of  Clivus  Sacer. 

cula  was  supported  by  two  columns  of  portasanta;  the  letters 
TAPCEnx  on  the  epistyle  were  of  gilt  metal.  It  could  be  recon- 
structed almost  in  a  perfect  state. 

Literature. —  Notizie  degli  Scnri,  1879,  p.  14,  tav.  vii.,  and  p.  113  ;  1882, 
p.  216,  tav.  xiv.-xvi.  —  Bull,  com.,  1878,  p.  257  ;  1880,  ]>.  80. 

On  the  side  opposite  the  Basilica  Nova  stood  the 

XII.  PoRTicT's  Margaritaria,  an  arcade  for  jewelers  and 
goldsmiths  (XII  in  plan). —  The  parallelogram  between  the  Sacra 
and  the  Xova  Via,  the  Arch  of  Titus  and  the  House  of  the  Vestals, 
remained  a  ten-a  incognita  to  the  topographer  until  the  excavations 
of  1878-7.9.  Instead  of  the  cedes  Penatinm,  of  the  house  of  the 
Tarquins,  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator,  and  other  such  edifices 
crowded  into  it  by  the  fancy  of  modern  students,  it  was  found  to 
contain  a  })ortico;  sup2>orted  by  ten  or  eleven  rows  of  stone  pilas- 
tei-s  (twenty-two  in  each  row),  similar  in  every  respect  to  the  Por- 
ticus  Septorum  under  the  Palazzo  Doria,  and  to  the  Porticus 
Vipsania  under  the  (now  demolished)  Palazzo  Piombino.  The 
stone  pilasters  stand  four  metres  apart,  and  the  covered  galleries 
must  have  been  lighted  by  openings  in  the  vault.  The  classic 
name  of  this  portico  is  easily  found  by  refei-ring  to  the  Almanac 


208 


A     WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACRA    VIA 


of  354,  which  mentions,  among  the  edifices  near  to  the  Forum,  a 
Porticus  Margaritaria,  viz.,  a  portico  occupied  by  jewelers  and 
goldsmiths.  Considering  that  the  jewelers  and  goldsmiths  of  the 
Porticus  Margaritaria  call  themselves  de  Sacra  Via,  it  is  evident 
that  the  arcades  opened  on  that  very  street.  Part  ii.  of  volume  vi. 
of  the  "  Corpus  Inscriptionum  "  contains  scores  of  epitaphs  of 
these  tradesmen  of  the  Sacra  Via :  there  are  unguejiiarii,  perfumers ; 
aurijices,  goldsmiths ;  an  auri  vestrix,  weaver  of  gold  cloth  (?)  ; 
ccelatores,  engravers  also  in  repousse  work  ;  coronarii  or  wreath- 
makers  ;  Jlaturarii,  metal-casters ;  (jemmarii  and  margaritarii,  deal- 
ers in  jewels  and  pearls  ;  pigmentai-ii,  makers  of  cosmetics  ;  tibiarii. 


Fig.  83.  —  Plan  of  Porticus  Margaritaria. 

flute-makers  ;  and  negotiatores  in  general.  Originally  tliey  must 
have  exhibited  their  precious  merchandise  in  booths  and  screens 
and  desks  under  the  shelter  of  the  portico ;  later  on,  the  portico 
was  cut  up  into  regular  shops  by  means  of  brick  walls  raised  be- 
tween each  jiair  of  stone  pilasters,  exactly  as  was  done  with  the 
Septa  and  with  the  Porticus  Vipsania.  The  space  was  cut  up  also 
vertically  by  means  of  wooden  floors,  so  as  to  secure  an  office  or 
a  bedroom  above  the  shop. 

The  visitor  who  looks  at  the  apparently  barren  site  of  the  portico 
may  wonder  how  and  where  the  subtle  eyes  of  the  topographer  can 
see  all  these  details.  The  explanation  is  this.  When  the  exca- 
vators, in  search  of  building-materials,  attacked  the  ruins  of  the 


TEE    TEMPLE    OF  ROMULUS  209 

portico  at  the  time  of  Alexander  VII.,  under  the  leadership  of 
Leonardo  Agostini,  they  removed  only  the  blocks  of  travertine  of 
which  the  pilasters  were  built,  and  left  alone  the  partition  walls 
of  brick.  The  portico,  therefore,  is  gone,  except  a  few  blocks 
which  remain  in  situ  here  and  there,  especially  on  the  side  of  the 
Nova  Via,  but  we  can  judge  of  its  shape  and  size  and  aspect  from 
the  brick  walls,  which  still  show  the  marks  of  the  blocks  stolen 
away  under  Pope  Chigi.  Many  brick  stamps  found  in  the  excava- 
tions of  1879  mention  the  kilns  of  Domitia  Lucilla,  wife  of  Lucius 
Verus.  The  shops,  therefore,  must  date  from  the  second  quarter 
of  the  second  century,  probably  from  the  year  134.  The  whole 
building  was  not  level,  but  followed  the  slope  of  the  ground,  like 
the  inclined  wings  of  Bernini's  portico  at  the  end  of  the  piazza  of 
S.  Peter's. 

Literature.  —  Notizie  deijli  Scai-i,  1882,  p.  228. — Luchvig  Preller,  Die 
Regionen  (ler  Stadt  Rom,  p.  154.  —  Forma  Urbis  Roma,  pi.  xxix. — •  Sante 
Bartoli  Pietro,  Mem.  50  (iu  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  234). —  Corpus  inscr., 
vol.  vi.  n.  1974,  9207,  9212,  9214,  9221,  9283,9418,  94.34,  9545,  9662,  9775. 

Continuing  our  descent  of  the  Clivus  Sacer,  after  passing  on  the 
right  the  street  leading  to  the  Carinse,  described  in  §  x.,  we  find 
on  the  same  side  the  monumental  group  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano, 
which  comprises  a  round  vestibule,  once  the  Heroon  Komuli,  and  a 
square  hall,  once  the  Templum  Sacra^  Urbis. 

XIII.  The  Heroox  Romuli  (Temple  of  Romuhis,  son  of  I\Iax- 
entius)  (XIII  in  plan).  —  When  this  young  prince  died  in  o(l9,  a 
coin  was  struck  with  the  legend  divo  komvlo,  on  the  reverse  of 
which  is  represented  a  round  monument  erected  to  his  memory. 
The  "  Liber  Pontificalis,"  John  the  deacon,  and  others  mention  the 
site  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  as  that  of  a  templum  Romuli  (mean- 
ing the  founder  of  the  city),  and  this  tradition  has  lasted  to  our 
own  time.  (See  Nibby,  Roma  nell'  anno  1888,  part  i.  vol.  ii.  p.  710.) 
Commendatore  de  Rossi,  with  the  help  of  a  fragmentary  inscrip- 
tion whicli  still  remained  affixed  to  the  building  towards  1550,  has 
been  able  to  prove,  first,  that  the  round  vestibule  of  SS.  Cosma  e 
Damiano  and  the  Heroon  Romuli  are  one  and  the  same  thing ; 
secondly,  that  the  Heroon  was  still  unfinished  when  Maxentius 
lost  his  life  at  the  battle  of  Saxa  Rubra  on  October  27,  312.  The 
Senate  comjjleted  the  rotunda,  and  dedicated  it,  together  with 
the  basilica,  to  Constantine.  Pope  Felix  IV.  (526-530)  cut  open  a 
communication  between  the  rotunda  and  the  Templum  Sacrse 
Urbis  behind  it,  and  dedicated  both  to  SS.  Cosmas  and  Daniianus, 
physicians  and  martyrs. 


210 


A     WALK    THROUGH    THE    ^ACRA    VIA 


The  style  of  the  Ilevoon  shows  a  decided  decline  in  taste  and 
elegance.  Instead  of  a  round  marble  cella  surrounded  by  a  peri- 
style of  fluted  Corinthian  pillars,  as  we  see  in  the  Temple  of 
Matuta,  of  Herciiles  iNIagnus  Custos,  etc.,  we  are  confronted  with 
a  clumsy  mixture  of  curved  and  straight  lines,  a  round  hall  be- 
tween two  rectangular  ones,  a  front  with  a  hemicicyle  between 
the  middle   columns,  and  two  doors  between  each   side   couple. 


Fig.  84.  —  The  Portico  of  the  Heroon  Romuli. 


Two  columns  (of  cipollino)  are  left  standing ;  a  third  was  removed 
at  the  time  of  Urban  VIII. ;  the  site  of  the  fourth  is  only  marked 
by  its  socle.  The  most  conspicuous  portion  of  the  building  is  the 
entrance  door,  with  bronze  folds  and  an  elaborate  entablature  sup- 
ported by  two  columns  of  porphyry.  The  door  and  its  ornaments 
were  raised  to  the  level  of  the  modern  city  by  Pope  Barl>erini 
about  1630.  The  Italian  government  restored  it  to  its  ancient 
site  in  1879.  I  may  add  that  when  Urban  VIII.  repaired  the  roof 
of  the  cupola,  the  cupola  itself  was  in  imminent  danger  of  collaps- 


ARCHIVES    OF   THE    CADASTRE 


211 


ing.  We  found  ^vedg■ed  in  its  cracks  roots  of  ilexes  over  ten  centi- 
metres in  diameter,  the  remains  of  an  hortus  siccus  many  hundred 
years  old. 

LiTEKATUKK.  —  Gio.  Battista  cle  Rossi,  Bull,  crist.,  1867,  p.  66. — Rodolfo 
Lanciaui,  Bull,  com.,  1882,  p.  29,  pi.  9. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1147. — 
Mariano  Armellini,  Chiese  di  Ruiau,  pp.152  and  155. — Notizie  de<jli  Scavi, 
1879-1880. 


Fig.  85.  —  Plan  of 
SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano. 


XIV.  Templum  Sacr.e  Urbis  (archives  of  the  Cadastre)  (XIV 
in  plan).     The  inner  rectangular  hall,  back  of 
the  Heroon  Romuli,  was  built  by  Vespasian 
in  78. 

When  this  wise  prince  took  the  reins  of 
empire  after  the  great  disasters  which  had 
befallen  the  capital  under  Nero  and  Vitellius, 
the  city  was  still  "  deformis  veteribus  in- 
cendiis  atque  minis."  Its  state  may  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  Paris  after  the  Commune 
as  far  as  public  buildings  are  concerned,  but 
we  must  go  back  to  the  Chicago  fire  of  1871 
to  find  a  parallel  for  the  thousands  of  palaces, 
tenement  houses,  temples,  and  shrines  de- 
stroyed, the  ruins  of  which  covered  ten  re- 
gions out  of  fourteen.  Between  73  and  75, 
the  high  priests,  magistrates,  architects,  sur- 
veyors,   and   military   engineers,  under  the 

leadership  of  the  censors,  attended  to  the  reorganization  of  the 
city  both  materially  and  from  an  administrative  point  of  view.  The 
last  Roman  census  in  the  antique  fashion  was  taken  in  74,  the  city 
area  and  limits  were  defined,  the  ground  surveyed,  the  line  of  the 
Servian  walls  and  that  of  the  octroi  measured,  together  with  the 
length  of  the  streets  radiating  from  the  golden  milestone  towards 
the  gates,  the  fourteen  wards  divided  into  many  hundred  "  com- 
pita  larum "  (parishes  ?),  the  cadastre  of  public  and  private 
property  revised  and  brought  up  to  date,  the  pomerium  enlarged, 
the  streets  straightened  and  repaved,  the  temples  rebuilt,  and  a 
new  and  re%'ised  map  of  the  city  made.  All  the  documents  con- 
nected with  these  geodetic  and  financial  operations  were  deposited 
in  a  fire-proof  building  erected  for  the  purjiose  on  the  southwest 
side  of  the  Forum  of  Peace,  between  it  and  the  Sacra  Via.  The 
hall  had  two  entrances,  one  from  the  northwest,  decorated  with  a 
portico  of  six  columns,  on  the  epistyle  of  which  the  following  in- 
sci'iption  was  engraved :  — 


212 


A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 


imp  •   caes  •   vesPASiANus  •  avg  •  font  •  max  •  tribvn  •  put  • 
viii  imp  •  xviii  •  p  •  p  •  censor  •  cos  •  viii 

impp  •  caess  •  severvs  •  et  •  antoninvs  •  pii  •  avgg  •  felices 

RESTITVERE 

(This  epistyle  was  broken,  with  the  fall  of  the  portico,  into 
four  pieces.     Two  are  missing;  one  was  found  about  1530  in  the 

Piazza  della  Consolazione ; 
the  last,  in  1612,  near  the  steps 
of  S.  Francesca  Komana.) 
J  The  second  entrance,  still  per- 
fect, ojjened  on  the  street  de- 
scribed in  §  X.  This  monu- 
mental gate  has  been  designed 
and  illustrated  by  Middleton 
in  the  "  Remains  of  Ancient 
Rome,"  vol.  i.  p.  41.  The  last 
two  lines  of  the  inscription, 
which  contain  the  names  of 
Severus  and  Caracalla,  refer 
to  the  restorations  made  by 
these  Emperors  to  the  edifice, 
considerably  damaged  by  the 
fire  of  Commodus.  Their  work 
can  be  easily  recognized  from 
the  fact  that  while  Vespa- 
sian's hall  was  of  opus  quad- 
ratum,  of  tufa  strengthened 
with  blocks  of  travertine  at 
the  corners,  the  restorations 
of  211  are  of  bricks.  When 
Panvinio  and  Ligorio  de- 
scribed and  sketched  the 
building  towards  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  ceiitury  it  was 
„„  practically   intact,    the    only 

changes   made   when   it  was 
".'■'."■".'.'",.''.'.,!':'."-''"'  J.  f.  p....  Chi-istianized    by   Felix   IV. 

being  the  introduction  of  the 

.  The  Church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Domiano  ^P^^  and  the  altar.  They  de- 
scribed the  hall  as  lighted  by 
fifteen  large  windows  (three 


,yfMM//W/M^/^'''^''' 


Fig.  86.  ■ 


in  the  Middle  Ages. 


ARCHIVES    OF   THE    CADASTRE 


21^ 


still  visible,  see  Fig.  86).  The  walls  were  divided  into  three  hori- 
zontal bands  by  finely  cut  cornices.  The  upper  band  was  occupied 
by  the  windows,  as  in  our  old  churches ;  the  lower  was  simply  lined 
with  marble  slabs  covered  by  the  bookcases  and  screens  which 
contained  the  papers  and  records  and  maps  of  the  cadastre ;  the 
middle  one  was  incrusted  with  tarsia-work  of  the  rarest  kinds  of 
marble,  with  panels  representing  panoplies,  the  Wolf  with  the  infant 
founders  of  Rome,  and  other  such  allegorical  scenes.  A  particu- 
lar that  may  surjirise  the  reader  is  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  tiles 
of  the  present  roof  are  ancient,  their  dates  varying  from  the  time 
of  Caracalla  to  that  of  Theodoric.     After  the  restoration  of  Cara- 


Fig.  87.  —  The  Church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

calla  the  place  took  the  name  of  Templum  Sacrge  Urbis.  This 
most  perfect  of  the  buildings  in  the  classic  district  of  the  Sacra 
Via  was  mercilessly  mutilated  by  Pope  Urban  VIII.  in  1632.  He 
raised  tlie  level  of  the  church  by  24  feet,  destroyed  the  stone  walls 
which  made  it  fire-proof,  and  sold  or  gave  up  the  stones  to  the 
Jesuits  for  their  Church  of  S.  Ignazio.  The  bronze  gates  of  the 
Heroon  were  wrenched  from  their  sockets  and  rebuilt  out  of  place 
in  symmetry  with  the  axis  of  the  church ;  the  historic  inscription 
of  Constantine  was  destroyed,  and  the  precious  incrustations  of 


214  A    M'ALK    THROUGH   THE   SACEA    VIA 

the  nave  were  obliterated.  The  Christian  decorations  of  the  edi- 
fice had  no  better  fate.  There  was  a  ciborium  in  the  a^ise,  made 
about  1150  by  Guy,  cardinal  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  a  master- 
piece of  the  school  of  Paolo  Romano,  signed  by  four  of  his  son's 
pupils :  lonannes,  petrvs,  angelms,  sasso,  filii  pavli  hvivs 
OPERis  MAGiSTRi  FVERVNT.  It  was  leveled  to  the  ground,  to- 
gether with  the  ambones  of  Sergius  I.  (695).  The  frescoes  in  the 
lower  portion  of  the  walls  were  whitewashed.  Pope  Barberini  laid 
his  hands  also  on  the  mosaics  of  the  apse,  mutilating  those  of  the 
arch  as  well  as  those  of  the  calotta.  Lastly,  he  called  the  monks 
to  helji  in  the  work  of  destruction,  and  a  brief  dated  1630  (discov- 
ered by  Armellini  in  the  Archivio  dei  Brevi)  gave  "  licentiam  effo- 
diendi  lapides  "  as  they  pleased. 

The  fame  of  the  Templum  Sacrae  Urbis  comes,  however,  from 
another  cause.  When  Agrippa  and  Augustus  surveyed  the  city 
in  6  B.  c,  the  result  of  their  labors,  viz.  the  plan,  or  Forma  Urbis, 
was  publicly  exhibited  in  the  Porticus  Vipsania  on  the  Via  Fla- 
minia  (Aug.  1, 7  b.  c).  Vespasian,  likewise,  must  have  exhibited  the 
plan  of  the  city  reconstructed,  after  the  fire,  by  Nero  and  by  himself, 
in  this  building  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano.  The  third  edition  of 
the  map,  rej^resenting  the  city  rebuilt  and  reorganized  by  Severus 
and  Caracalla  after  the  fire  of  Conimodus,  was  certainly  affixed  to 
the  outside  wall  of  the  building,  looking  on  the  forum  of  Peace. 
This  celebrated  "  Forma  Urbis,"  engraved  on  marble  at  an  ap- 
proximate scale  of  1  :  '250,  the  fragments  of  which  are  exhibited 
in  the  Capitoline  museum,  has  been  described  at  length  in  Book 
I.  pp.  95-98. 

Literature  on  the  Heroon  Roimili  and  the  Tem]iliini  Sacrw  Urhis.  — Gio. 
Battista  de  Rossi,  Bull.  arch,  crist.,  1867,  p.  iW  ;  and  18'Jl,  p.  7ti,  n.  3  ;  Mu- 
saici  delle  chiese  di  Homa,  part  iv.  —  Rodoh'o  Lauciani,  Bull,  cum.,  1882,  p.  2i>, 
tav.  iii.-x.  —  Mariano  Armellini,  Cliitse  di  Homa,  2d  ed.  p.  152.  —  Leone 
Nardoni,  Di  alcune  sotterr.  confessloni  nclle  antlche  basilichc.  Rome,  1881. — 
Notizle  degli  Scavi,  1879-80,  passim ;  and  Bull,  cum.,  1881,  p.  8. 

On  the  names  Urbs  JJterna  and  Vrbs  Sacra  consult  F.  G.Moore  in  Transact. 
Amer.  Philul.  Association,  1894,  34. 

The  back  wall  of  the  temple  covered  by  the  marble  plan  formed 
at  the  same  time  part  of  the  inclosure  of  the  Forum  of  Peace 
(XV  in  plan),  the  pavement  of  which  is  inlaid  with  slabs  of 
portasanta.  The  pavement  has  been  uncovered  both  at  the  foot 
of  the  wall,  where  it  is  still  to  be  seen,  and  under  the  house  Via 
del  Tempio  della  Pace,  Xo.  11,  where  it  lies  buried  under  thirty- 
eight  feet  of  rubbish.     I  have  already  mentioned  (§  ix.)  some  of 


THE   ARCH   OF  FAB  I  US  215 

the  famous  ornaments  of  this  forum  ;  we  may  add  to  the  list  a  gal- 
lory  of  statues  of  famous  athletes  from  Greece,  of  which  we  heard 
the  first  time  in  March,  1891,  when  a  marble  pedestal  was  dis- 
covered at  the  corner  of  the  Via  del  Sole  and  the  Salara  Vecchia, 
bearing  the  inscription  nreOKAHS  '  HAEI02  ■  nENTA0AO2  "  (iro) 
ATKAEITOT  *  ('Ap76)toT.  It  refers  to  the  celebrated  statue  of 
Tythokles,  a  work  of  Polykletos,  the  original  of  which  was  erected 
at  Olympia,  in  memory  of  exploits  of  the  former  in  the  pent- 
athlon. There  the  statue  was  seen  by  Pausanias  (vi.  7,  10),  and 
there  also  its  pedestal  was  rediscovered  by  the  Germans  in  1879 
between  the  temples  of  Juno  and  Pelops.  The  original  figure 
must  have  been  leaning  on  the  right  leg,  as  shown  by  the  marks 
on  the  plinth,  whereas  the  Roman  copy  seems  to  have  been  leaning 
the  opposite  way,  unless  tlie  pedestal  has  been  made  use  of  twice, 
before  and  after  the  first  barbaric  invasion.  The  loss  of  the  Roman 
replica  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  because  we  have  no  specimen  of 
the  work  of  the  second  Polykletos.  The  pedestal  is  exhibited  in 
the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio. 

A  little  below  the  Temple  of  Romulus,  the  Sacra  Via  was 
spanned  by  the 

XV.  Fornix  Fabiaxus  (the  Arch  of  Q.  Fabius  Allobrogicus) 
(XVI  in  plan).  —  On  the  left  footway  of  the  Sacra  Via,  nearly 
opposite  the  street  which  divides  the  Temple  of  Faustina  from 
the  Ileroon  Romuli,  are  lying  several  blocks  of  travertine,  with 
mouldings,  cornices,  and  capitals  of  very  simple  design.  They 
were  discovered  in  1882  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  not  one  stand- 
ing in  its  original  site.  Ancient  writers  place  at  this  exact  point 
the  fornix  or  archway  erected  by  Q.  Fabius  INIaxinms  Allobrogicus, 
consul  121  B.  c,  in  memory  of  his  successful  campaign  against 
the  Allobroges  and  Arvernes.  The  monument  was  celebrated 
more  from  its  location  than  for  architectural  value  or  size.  Cras- 
sus  the  orator  used  to  say  of  IMemmius  that  he  thought  himself 
so  great  that  he  could  not  enter  the  Forum  without  stooping  his 
head  at  the  Arch  of  Fabius.  Cicero  places  it  at  the  foot  of  the 
Clivus  Sacer. 

The  remains  of  the  arch  were  certainly  dug  up  in  1543,  but 
the  statements  of  contemporary  writers  are  so  contradictory  that 
it  seems  impossible  to  make  out  the  truth.  Some  assert  that  the 
stones  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  conqueror  of  Savoy  were 
found  built  in  the  vault  of  the  Cloaca  ]Maxima  !  Others  describe 
not  only  the  exact  spot  where  the  arch  stood,  but  also  its  deco- 


216  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

rations,  trophies,  victories,  etc.  Judging  from  the  existing  frag- 
ments, it  was  a  very  simple  structure,  worthy  of  the  austerity  of 
Republican  times.  The  diameter  of  the  archway  measured  3.94 
metres.  It  was  built  of  travertine  on  the  outside,  with  the  core  of 
tufa  and  travertine.  Near  or  upon  it  were  statues  of  L.  ^milius 
Paullus  and  of  P.  Cornelius  Scipio  Africanus. 

LiTEUATURK.  —  Cicero,  De  orat.,  ii.  66 ;  and  Pro  Plancio,  7.  —  Corjnis  J7isc):, 
vol.  i.  p.  178;  and  vol.  vi.  n.  1303,  1304.  —Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  JDeW  arco 
Fabiano  nel  Foro  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1859,  vol.  xxxi.  p.  307).  —  Notizie  der/U 
Scavi,  1882,  p.  224,  tav.  xvi. —Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  126.  — The- 
denat,  in  Daremberg  and  Saglio's  Dlctiontiaire ,  p.  1.302,  n.  28. 

The  last  building  on  the  right  side  of  the  Sacra  Via,  before 
reaching  the  Forum,  is  the 

XVI.  iEi)Es  Y>w\  Pii  ET  Div^.  Faustina,  or  Temple  of  An- 
toninus and  Faustina  —  chui'ch  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  jNliranda  (XVII 
in  plan).  —  "When  Antoninus  Pius  lost  his  wife,  Faustina  the 
elder,  in  A.  D.  141,  the  Senate  voted  a  temple  to  commemorate  her 
apotheosis,  with  priestesses  attached  to  it,  with  gold  and  silver 
statues,  etc.  On  the  architrave  of  the  temple  this  simple  inscrip- 
tion was  engraved :  — 

dIvae  •  favstInae  •  ex  •  s  •  c. 

The  same  divine  honors  were  given  to  Antoninus  after  his 
death  in  161 ;  and  his  name  was  added  to  that  of  Faustina  on  the 
frieze,  with  little  consideration  for  the  laws  of  epigraph  ic  symme- 
try. (See  Corpus  Inscriptionum,  vol.  vi.  n.  1005.)  The  edifice 
was  named  from  the  last  occupant,  ^des  divi  Pii.  It  is  prostyle, 
with  six  columns  on  the  front  and  three  on  the  sides.  The  col- 
umns are  of  Carystian  or  cipollino  marble,  which  had  come  into 
great  fashion  since  the  time  of  Hadrian.  The  frieze,  with  its 
griffins,  vases,  candelabra,  and  festoons,  is  considered  a  marvel  of 
art. 

In  the  wide  space  covered  by  the  pronaos  there  were  statues 
of  friends  or  relatives  of  the  Antonines,  like  those  of  Vitrasius 
Pollio  (Corpus  Inscriptionum,  1540),  husband  of  Annia  Faustina, 
governor  of  Asia  and  of  lower  Moesia,  consul  a.  d.  138  and  176 ; 
and  of  Bassseus  Rufus  Qhid.,  1599),  one  of  the  victorious  leaders 
in  the  Marcomannic  campaign.  The  temple  is  represented  in 
contemporary  medals,  as  well  as  in  a  bas-relief  of  the  Villa  Me- 
dici. (See  Bull.  Inst.,  1853,  p.  141.)  Its  remains,  most  beautifully 
preserved,  were  dedicated  to  S.  Lawrence  in  the  seventh  or  eighth 


THE    TEMPLE    OF  FAUSTINA 


217 


century,  probably  by  a  devout  lady  named  ^Miranda  (compare  the 
names  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Forraoso,  in  Daniaso,  in  Lucina,  etc.). 
This  saved  them  from  destruction  until  the  time  of  Urban  V., 
1362-1370,  who  allowed  the  temple  to  be  reduced  to  the  present 
state,  to  provide  stones  and  marbles  for  the  reconsti-uction  of  the 
Lateran.     Martin  V.  granted  the  church  in  1430  to  the  corporation 


Fig.  88.  —  The  Frieze  of  the  Temple  of  Faustina. 


of  apothecaries,  who  built  shrines  and  chapels  in  the  intercolum- 
niations  of  the  portico,  protected  by  a  roof  the  slanting  traces  of 
■which  are  still  \4sible.  Roof  and  cbapels  were  demolished  by 
Paul  III.  on  the  occasion  of  the  entry  of  Charles  Y.  Fra  Gio- 
condo  da  Verona  mentions  more  than  once  excavations  made 
round  the  temple  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  by  which  he 
and  Peruzzi  were  enabled  to  take  measurements  of  the  substruc- 
tures and  basement ;  but  no  further  spoliation  seems  to  have  been 
committed  until  the  temple  was  again  given  up  by  the  same  Paul 
III.  to  the  deputies  for  the  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro. 

The  results  of  the  loot  of  1.510  are  described  as  follows  by 
Ligorio  (Bodl.,  p.  28)  :  "  I  shall  now  describe  some  marbles  found 
at  the  foot  of  the  temple,  when  they  were  searching  for,  and  re- 
moving to  S.  Peter's,  the  beautiful  steps,  an  act  of  vandalism 


218 


A    WALK    THE  0  UGH   THE   SAC  HA    VIA 


which  I  cannot  condemn  too  strongly.  There  was  a  bas-relief 
representing  Nereids  riding  on  dolphins ;  a  portion  of  the  figure 
which  stood  on  the  top  of  the  pediment ;  a  square  pedestal  with 
low  relief,  in  a  style  like  the  Egyptian ;  and  many  fragments  of 
statues,  capitals,  and  friezes,  half  burned  in  a  lime-kiln.  There 
was  also  the  base  of  a  statue  dedicated  to  Antoninus  by  the  corpora- 


Fig  89.  —  Graffiti  oii  the  Caiystiau  Columns  of  the  Temple  of  Faustina. 


tion  of  bakers,  which  became  the  property  of  the  Mattel."  There 
were  twenty-one  steps,  as  ascertained  in  the  course  of  the  excava- 
tions made  in  1811  by  the  French  prefect  of  the  Departement  du 
Tibre.  The  same  excavations  brought  to  light  the  threshold  of 
the  door  leading  to  the  crypt  below  the  stairs.  M.  Lacour  Gayet 
discovered  in  1885,  and  published  in  the  "  Melanges  de  I'Ecole 
fran(;aise  de  Rome  "  of  that  year,  p.  226,  a  set  of  graffiti  scratched 


THE   REGIA  219 

on  the  lower  portion  of  the  columns  of  the  pronaos,  after  their 
surface  had  been  softened  by  the  fire  of  Conimodus.  They  rep- 
resent Hercules  and  the  lion  of  Xemea,  a  Lar,  the  Alctory,  etc. 
The  inscriptions  date  from  the  Christian  era,  as  if  some  one  was 
hastening  the  "  purification  "  of  the  building.  There  are  saluta- 
tions like  EVTiciANE  VIVAS  and  the  monogram 


^ 


CO  y^  A 

which  must  have  been  sketched  by  some  one  of  Eastern  extrac- 
tion, as  the  Latins  always  made  the  Alpha  precede  the  Omega. 

The  ground  in  front  of  the  temple  was  cleared  in  January,  1870. 
Among  the  objects  recovered  on  this  occasion  were  a  fragment  of 
the  fasti  consulares  from  the  year  of  Rome  75.5  to  760 ;  a  pedestal 
of  a  statue  which,  having  been  overthro'SATi  by  an  earthquake  (fa- 
tali  necessitate  collapsa),  was  replaced  on  its  pedestal  by  Gabinius 
Vettius  Probianus,  a  prefect  of  Eome,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  well  known  for  the  care  he  took  for  the  j)reservation 
of  works  of  art,  injured  in  one  way  or  another  during  those  event- 
ful years ;  and  the  pedestal  of  an  equestrian  statue  raised  \)\  the 
policemen  to  Geta.  The  ground  in  front  of  the  temple  is  called 
in  the  inscription  of  Probianus  celeberrimvs  a-rbis  locvs. 

Literature. —  Vita  Pii,  6.  —  Eckliel,  Doctriiia  numism.  vet.,  vii.  .39.  —  Pirro 
Ligorio,  Cod.  vat.,  3374,  f.  168;  and  Cod.  Torin.,  xv.  f.  100.— Fra  Giocoiido 
da  Verona,  Uffizi,  n.  202.  — Tournon,  Etudes  statist,  sur  Rome,  vol.  ii.  p.  264. 
—  Valadier  et  Visconti,  Raccolta  delle  piii  itisirjni  fabbriche  di  Roma,  tav.  ii., 
iii.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Faro  romano,  p.  181.  —  Angelo  Pellegrini,  Svavi  di 
Roma  (in  Buonarroti,  February,  1876). — Armellini,  Chiese  di  Roma,  p.  1.57. 

We  must  now  cross  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Sacra  Via,  and 
examine,  before  entering  the  Forum,  the  group  of  Vesta,  which 
comprises  the  Regia,  the  temple,  the  shrine,  and  the  house  of  the 

Vestals. 

XVIT.  The  Regia  (X\T;II  in  plan).  —  The  now  vacant  sj^ace 
of  ground  between  the  Temples  of  Vesta  and  Faustina  was  occu- 
pied by  the  Regia,  the  official  residence  of  the  Pontifex  ]\Iaximus, 
and  the  centre  of  his  administration,  the  foundation  of  which  was 
attributed  to  Xuma.  It  contained  a  chapel  where  the  lances  of 
Mars  were  kept ;  another  sacred  to  Ops  C'onsiva,  which  could  be 
entered  only  liy  the  Vestals  and  by  the  •'  sacerdos  publicus ;  "  spa- 
cious archives  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  annals,  commentaries, 
and  books  of  the  Supi'eme  Priesthood ;  and  a  meeting  hall  where 


220 


A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 


religious  conventions  were  held  (like  that  of  the  Fratres  Arvales 
of  May  14,  14  b.  c,  for  the  cooptatio  of  Drusus  Caesar,  son  of 
Tiberius).  The  Regia  was  burnt  to  the  ground  not  less  than  four 
times :  first  in  210  b.  c.  ;  then  in  148,  when  only  the  chapel  of 
Mars  and  the  laurel-trees  shading  the  entrance  were  saved  from 
the  flames ;  and  again  in  36,  when  it  was  rebuilt  by  Doniitius 
Calvinus  in  solid  marble,  and  ornamented  with  statues  obtained 
from  Julius  Ciiesar,  much  against  his  will.  Pliny  (Xatural  His- 
tory, xxxvi.  18,  8)  says  that  two  of  the  four  statues  which  once 
had  supported  the  tent  of  Alexander  the  Great  were  placed  before 
the  Regia,  the  other  two  being  before  the  Temple  of  Mars  Ultor. 
In  1883  I  expressed  the  opinion  (Notizie  Scavi,  p.  479)  that 


Fig.  00.  —The  Regia,  as  .sketched  by  Pirro  Ligorio. 

the  graceful  little  edifice  (once  more  attacked  by  the  flames  in  the 
conflagration  of  Nero)  never  rose  from  its  ashes ;  but  after  read- 
ing the  account  of  its  discovery  and  outrageous  treatment  by  the 
deputies  of  the  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro  in  1543-46,  I  wish  to  correct 
this  statement.  The  illusti-ation,  which  I  have  photographed 
from  an  original  sketch  by  Ligorio,  who  was  present  at  the  di?- 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    VESTA  221 

covery,  speaks  better  than  any  other  argument.  The  design  is 
more  a  restoration  of  that  fanciful  architect  than  a  picture  of 
the  real  state  of  the  building  when  first  discovered  (August  15, 
1543  V) ;  but  many  of  the  particulars  are  genuine,  as  any  one  can 
see  by  comparing  them  with  the  existing  fragment,  reproduced  by 
Huelsen  and  Nichols,  with  Michelangelo's  reconstruction  in  the 
Sala  dei  Fasti,  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori,  and  with  Panvinio's  de- 
signs. Ligorio  labored  under  the  delusion  that  the  edifice  discov- 
ered was  a  "  Janus,"  and  so  he  gave  it  four  entrances,  wliile  in 
reality  there  were  but  two.  At  any  rate  all  those  present  at  the 
find,  Palladio,  Metello,  Panvinio,  Ligorio,  agree  that  there  was 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  Regia  standing  above  ground,  and 
that  very  many  lines  of  the  Fasti  triumphales  et  consulares  were 
found  in  situ,  engraved  on  its  marble  walls  and  pilasters ;  the  first 
between  18  and  12  before  Christ,  the  consulares  in  36.  Ligorio 
says  that  it  took  thirty  days  to  demolish  the  exquisite  ruins  down 
to  the  level  of  the  foundations,  some  of  the  blocks  being  split  for 
the  lime-kiln,  others  handed  over  to  the  stone-cutters  of  S.  Peter's. 
Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese  came  finally  to  the  rescue  :  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Fasti  were  piously  collected  by  him,  and  removed 
to  the  Capitol,  and  the  ground  was  tunneled  in  various  directions 
in  search  of  stray  pieces.  Michelangelo  for  the  architectural  part, 
and  Gentile  Delfino  for  the  epigraphic,  were  deputed  to  arrange 
them  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori.  Other 
fragments  have  been  discovered  since  1870. 

Literature. —  Coi-jms  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  41.5;  second  edition,  pp.  10-12,  pi. 
la.  —  Fea,  Frammenti  d.  Fasd.  —  Adolf  Becker,  Topographie,  p.  234. — De 
Murls,  p.  23.  —  F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  pp.  118-12.5.  —  Heinrich 
Jordan,  Furma  Urbis,  pi.  3,  n.  21.  —  Notizie  der/li  Scavi,  1882,  p.  226.  —  The  dis- 
coveries of  1886  were  illustrated  b}'  Nichols,  The  Regia  and  the  Fasti  Capito- 
lini  (in  Archaiologia,  vol.  1.,  1887,  p.  227);  by  the  same  in  Mittheil.,  1886, 
pp.  94-98;  by  Jordan,  Gli  edijizi  J'ra  il  tempio  di  Faustina,  e  V  atrio  di  Vesta 
(in  Mittheil.,  1886,  p.  99,  pis.  5-7);  and  bv  Huelsen,  Die  Regia  (in  Jahrbuch 
Arch.  Inst.,  1889,  p.  228). 

XVIII.  The  Temple  of  Vesta  (XIX  in  plan).  —  "In  prehis- 
toric times,  when  fire  could  be  obtained  only  from  the  friction 
caused  by  rubbing  together  two  sticks  of  wood  or  from  sparks  of 
flint,  every  village  kept  a  public  fire  burning  day  and  night  in  a 
central  hut  for  the  use  of  each  family.  The  duty  of  watching  the 
precious  element  was  intrusted  to  young  girls,  because  girls,  as 
a  rule,  did  not  follow  their  parents  or  brothers  to  the  pasture 
grounds,  nor  did  they  share  with  them  the  fatigues  of  hunting  or 


222  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

fishing  expeditions.  In  course  of  time  this  simple  practice  be- 
came a  kind  of  sacred  institution,  especially  at  Alba  Longa,  the 
mother  country  of  Rome ;  and  when  a  party  of  Alban  shepherds 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  the  worship  of  Vesta  —  repre- 
sented by  the  j)ublic  fire  and  the  girls  attending  to  it  —  was  duly 
organized  at  the  foot  of  the  Palatine,  on  the  borders  of  the  market- 
place "  (Ancient  Rome,  p.  135). 

It  seems  that  the  original  hut  built  by  Numa  perished  in  the 
invasion  of  the  Gauls  in  390  b.  c.  The  Vestals,  on  being  warned 
of  their  approach,  concealed  the  Palladium  and  other  relics  in 
two  earthen  jars,  buried  them  near  the  house  of  the  flamen  Quiri- 
nalis  — the  place  was  henceforth  called  f/o//o/a  — and  took  refuge 
at  Caere.  A  second  fire  in  241  destroyed  the  temple.  While  the 
Vestals  tried  to  save  their  lives,  Caecilius  Metellus,  the  high  priest, 
threw  himself  into  the  flames,  and  saved  the  Palladium  at  the 
cost  of  one  eye  and  one  arm,  which  was  charred  to  the  bone.  The 
valor  of  thirteen  slaves  saved  the  temple  from  being  gutted  for 
the  third  time  in  210,  and  for  this  action  they  were  at  once  lib- 
erated. The  architecture  of  the  temple  of  those  days  can  be  seen 
in  the  coins  of  the  gens  Cassia,  dating  from  the  commencement  of 
the  seventh  century.'  The  round  structure  is  covered  by  a  conical 
roof  surmounted  by  a  statue,  and  fringed  around  with  dragons' 
heads.  Horace  describes  an  inundation  of  the  time  of  Augustus, 
by  which  the  temple  was  seriously  damaged.  Kero  restored  it 
after  his  own  fire.  Lastly,  the  terrible  conflagration  which  swept 
over  the  valley  of  the  Forum  in  191  a.  d.,  under  the  Empire  of 
Commodus,  destroyed  with  the  temple  the  house  of  the  Vestals, 
the  Temple  of  Peace,  etc.  The  Vestals  fled  to  the  Palatine, 
carrying  with  them  the  Palladium,  which  was  thus  seen  for  the 
first  time  by  profane  eyes.  The  reconstruction  by  Julia  Domna, 
the  Empress  of  Septimius  Severus,  and  the  mother  of  Caracalla, 
is  the  last  recorded  in  history.  The  "  vignettes  "  of  her  medals 
(ap.  Cohen,  Med.  imp.,  2d  ed.  n.  239)  give  an  exact  idea  of  its 
architecture  and  style ;  it  is  also  represented  on  several  bas-reliefs, 
reproduced  by  the  aiithors  and  in  the  works  quoted  at  the  foot 
of  this  section.  After  the  defeat  of  Eugenius  in  394,  Theodosius 
II.  shut  the  gates  of  the  temple  and  extinguished  forever  the 
mysterious  fire  which  had  been  kept  burning  for  over  a  thousand 
years. 

A  shapeless  mass  of  concrete  of  the  foundations  is  all  that  is 
left  of  the  famous  shrine.  The  responsibility  for  such  a  great  loss 
1  Babelon,  Monnaies  de  la  republ.  romaine,  vol.  i.  p.  331,  n.  8,  9. 


224  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

falls  not  on  the  would-be  barbarians,  but,  as  usual,  on  the  genial 
masters  of  the  Renaissance.  When  first  discovered,  at  the  time 
of  Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  in  1489,  it  was  practically  intact,  and 
had  suffered  only  slight  damage.  The  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro  de- 
stroyed it  in  1.549,  removing  or  burning  into  lime  not  only  the 
marble  blocks  of  the  cella,  the  entablature,  and  the  peristyle,  but 
even  the  tufa  blocks  which  strengthened  and  surrounded  the 
concrete  of  the  foundations,  like  a  ring.  Thirty-five  pieces  only 
escaped  by  a  miracle,  and  we  found  them  scattered  over  a  large 
area  in  the  excavations  of  1877.  AMth  their  help,  and  by  com- 
parison with  the  designs  of  medals  and  bas-reliefs,  architects  and 
archaeologists  have  attempted  the  reconstruction  of  the  temple. 
The  one  I  suggest  is  represented  on  pp.  159  and  IGO  of  "  Ancient 
Rome."  Compare  it  with  Jordan's  "  Der  Tempel,"  pi.  4 ;  and 
Auer's  "  Der  Tempel,"  plates  6-8.  This  last  is  reproduced  in  the 
preceding  cut. 

Literature. —  Wolfgang:  Helbig,  Bull.  Inst.,  1878,  p.  9.  —  Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciani,  V  atrio  di  Vesta  (in  Notizie  Scavi,  December,  1883);  and  Ancient  Rome, 
chaps,  vi.  and  vii. —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Ber  Tempel  der  Vesta.  Berlin,  Weid- 
mann,  1886.  —  Hans  Auer,  Ber  Tempel  der  Vesta.  Vienna,  Tempsky,  1888. — 
Christian  Huelsen,  MittlieU.,  vol.  iv.,  1889,  p.  245.  —  J.  Henrj'  Middleton, 
The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  i.  p.  298.  —  H.  Thedenat,  in  Daremberg 
and  Saglio's  Bictionnaire,  p.  1285,  n.  7. 

XIX.  The  Shrine  (XX  in  plan).  —  The  ancient  practice  of 
placing  shrines  of  domestic  gods  at  the  corners  of  the  main  streets 
of  each  ward  of  the  city,  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  public 
institution  by  Augustus.^  Four  hundred  and  twenty-four  of  these 
popular  chapels  were  numbered  in  Rome  under  Constantine.  The 
Christians  accepted  the  institution,  and  developed  it  to  such  an 
extent  that  not  less  than  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-six 
were  registered  in  Rome  in  1853.  Although  many  inscriptions 
belonging  to  the  "  sediculae  larum  "  have  been  found  from  time  to 
time,  only  two  may  be  said  to  exist  now  :  the  shrine  of  the  Vicus 
Sobrius  near  S.  Martino  ai  Monti,  and  that  of  the  Vicus  Vestse. 
The  latter  stands  behind  the  temple  on  the  right  of  the  entrance 
door  to  the  cloisters.  The  entablature  was  supported  by  two 
columns  of  the  composite  order.  The  frieze  contains  the  follow- 
ing inscription,  in  letters  of  the  golden  age  :  sexatvs  popvlvsqve 
KOMANv(.s)  •  PECVNiA  •  PVBLicA  •  FACiENDAM  •  cvRAViT.  Under- 
neath there  was,  very  likely,  a  statue  of  Mercury,  a  socle  inscribed 

1  See  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  62  ;  and  Suetonius,  Octav.,1^,  "com- 
pitales  Lares  ornare  bis  in  anno  instituit  vernis  floribus  et  icstivis." 


V    ts 


:-       O 


226  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

DEO  •  MERCVRio  having  been  found  not  far  away.  An  inscription 
discovered  in  June,  1878,  at  S.  Paolo  fuori  le  Mura  tells  us  the 
name  and  the  history  of  this  monument.  It  says  that  in  a.  d.  223, 
Severus  Alexander  being  Emperor,  the  street  magistrates  of  the 
eighth  region  (Forum)  had  rebuilt  ^^edicvlam  •  reg  •  viii  •  vico 
VEST^.  Vesta's  Temple  is  separated  from  that  of  Castor  and 
Pollux  by  a  lane,  which  is  evidently  the  Vicus  Vestae  mentioned 
above. 

This  beautiful  shrine  could  be  reconstructed  in  its  entirety,  but 
the  attempt  has  not  yet  been  made. 

XX.  Atrium  Vest^  (House  of  the  Vestals)  (XXI  in  plan, 
and  Fig.  92). —  The  House  of  the  Vestals  is  an  oblong  brick  build- 
ing, of  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus  and  Julia  Domna,  sur- 
rounded by  streets  on  every  side  :  by  the  Sacra  Via  on  the  north, 
by  the  Vicus  Vestae  on  the  west,  by  the  Nova  Via  on  the  south, 
and  by  an  unknown  lane  on  the  east.  The  most  prominent  feature 
of  the  building  is  the  Atrium  ;  in  fact,  its  size  and  magnificence 
were  so  great  that  the  whole  building  was  named  from  it,  Atrium 
Vestse.  The  building  itself  is  115  metres  long,  53  wide  ;  the 
Atrium  67  metres  long,  24  wide.  The  surface  of  the  house  amounts 
to  6095  square  metres,  of  which  not  less  than  one  foui'th  (1608 
square  metres)  is  occupied  by  the  Atrium.  Its  architecture  can  be 
compared  with  that  of  our  mediaeval  and  Renaissance  double- 
storied  cloisters,  which,  being  the  abode  of  people  seldom  or 
never  allowed  to  go  out,  must  necessarily  be  very  airy  and  spacious 
to  give  the  inmates  the  chance  of  taking  bodily  exercise.  The 
portico  on  the  ground  floor  has,  or  rather  had,  forty-eight  columns 
of  cipollino  mai'ble,  of  the  Corinthian  order.  Of  this  stately  col- 
onnade not  a  piece  is  left  standing.  The  site  and  the  number  of 
the  shafts  are  marked  only  by  the  foundation  stones  (cuscini)  of 
travertine.  Not  a  trace  has  been  found  of  the  capitals  and  of  the 
entablature,  which  was  146  metres  long ;  and  I  do  not  know  any 
other  instance  of  such  a  wholesale  destruction  of  an  ancient  build- 
ing. The  second  or  upper  story  had  an  equal  number  of  columns, 
smaller  in  size  and  of  the  precious  breccia  corallina.  Two  whole 
columns  and  many  fragments  have  been  recovered.  They  have 
escaped  destruction  because  the  breccia  corallina  cannot  be  burnt 
into  lime. 

The  Atrium  is  surrounded  by  state  apartments  on  the  ground 
floor.  On  the  upper  it  was  surrounded  by  the  private  apartments 
of  the  Vestals.     Of  course,  we  cannot  give  their  right  name  to  the 


THE   HOUSE    OF   THE    VESTALS  227 

single  pieces,  or  state  one  by  one  their  former  use  and  place.  At 
the  east  end  of  the  cloisters  there  is  a  large  hall,  twelve  metres 
long  and  eight  metres  wide,  which  corresponds  to  the  tablinum  of  a 
Roman  house.  Its  pavement  is  laid  out  in  colored  marbles,  such 
as  giallo,  porfido,  serpentine,  etc.,  and  the  pattern  belongs  to  the 
style  brought  into  fashion  under  Septimius  Sever  us.  The  walls 
were  incrusted  also  with  rare  marbles  framed  by  a  cornice  of  rosso 
antico.  On  each  side  of  this  hall  there  are  three  smaller  rooms, 
making  a  total  of  six,  a  figure  corresponding  to  the  number  of  the 
Vestals.  Their  destination  is  doubtful ;  certainly  they  were  not 
used  as  bedrooms,  in  the  first  place  because  the  bedrooms  have 
been  traced  in  the  upper  story,  and  secondly,  because  the  damp- 
ness of  these  low  cells  is  such  that  they  were  absolutely  unfit  for 
human  habitation. 

The  position  of  the  house,  as  regards  health  and  health-giving 
sunshine,  is  most  unfavorable.  Being  built  against  the  cliff  of 
the  Palatine,  at  the  bottom  of  an  artificial  cutting,  its  ground 
floor  lies  thirty  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Nova  Via ;  this  street  is 
actually  supported  by  the  back  walls  of  the  state  apartments  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Atrium.  No  wonder  that  these  walls  should 
be  saturated  with  damp,  which  must  have  told  severely  on  the 
health  of  the  sisters.  They  did  their  best  to  fight  the  evil. 
Double  walls  were  set  up  against  the  buttress  of  the  Nova  Via, 
with  a  free  space  between  them  to  allow  of  the  circidation  of  air. 
Ventilators  and  hot-air  furnaces  are  to  be  seen  in  every  corner. 
Another  precaution  taken  by  the  Vestals  against  rheumatism  was 
the  raising  of  the  pavements  of  every  room  subject  to  damp,  and 
the  establishment  of  hot  vapor  currents  in  the  free  space  between 
the  double  floors.  This  was  done  rather  awkwardly.  Instead  of 
the  terra-cotta  cylinders  or  brick  pillars  which  were  commonly 
used  by  the  Konians  to  support  the  upper  floor  of  these  hypocausta, 
the  Vestals  of  latter  days  made  use  of  large  amphorje  sawn  across 
and  cut  into  two  portions  of  equal  length.  These  half  jars  are 
placed  in  parallel  rows  and  very  near  each  other,  and  made  to 
support  the  large  tegulce  bipedales  over  which  the  pavement  is  laid. 
Hot  air  was  forced  to  circulate  in  the  interstices  between  the  jars 
by  means  of  terra-cotta  pipes  from  a  furnace.  In  spite  of  all 
these  precautions,  the  hoiise  must  have  remained  unhealthy,  es- 
pecially from  want  of  sunshine.  Even  how  it  is  cast  into  the 
shade  of  the  surrounding  ruins  of  the  imperial  palace  at  an  early 
hour  of  the  day ;  imagine  what  must  have  happened  when  that 
palace  was  towering  in  all  its  glory  fully  150  feet  above  the  level 


228  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

of  the  Atrium.  These  unfavorable  liygieuic  conditions  allow  us 
to  exi^lain,  with  a  certain  degree  of  probability,  a  remarkable 
change  in  the  rules  of  the  order  made  towards  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century.  Physicians  were  not  allowed  in  former  times 
to  enter  the  Atrium.  As  soon  as  the  fii'st  symptoms  of  a  case  of 
sickness  made  their  appearance  the  patient  was  at  once  removed 
from  the  nunnery  and  put  under  the  care  of  her  parents,  or  else 
under  the  charge  of  a  distingiushed  matron.  In  the  fourth  cen- 
tury we  hear  for  the  first  time  of  an  archiater  or  physician  attached 
to  the  establishment. 

When  the  excavations  began  in  October,  1883,  we  were  in  hope 
of  discovering  some  kind  of  fasti  which  would  tell  us  the  names  of 
the  Vestal  virgins,  the  dates  of  their  cooptation  and  death,  and, 
above  all,  the  list  of  the  abbesses  of  the  monastery.  The  expecta- 
tion was  disappointed ;  and  when  we  consider  that  amongst  the 
forty  thousand  inscriptions  discovered  in  Rome  since  the  early 
Renaissance  there  is  not  a  line,  not  a  fragment,  which  can  be 
attributed  to  the  above-named  fasti,  we  may  confidently  assert 
that  they  never  existed.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  this  fact.  The 
parallel  religious  corporations  of  the  Fratres  Ai'vales,  of  the  Salii 
Palatini,  of  the  Augiu's,  took  care  that  the  fasti  of  their  order, 
year  after  year,  should  be  engraved  in  marble ;  and  these  marbles, 
more  or  less  injiu-ed  by  time,  have  come  down  to  us,  and  they  are 
considered  as  the  most  precious  documents  of  Latin  epigraphy  and 
chronology.  Perhaps  it  was  not  customary  that  female  corpora- 
tions should  have  special  annals;  perhajis  these  annals  were  only 
permitted  to  true  collegia,  and  the  Vestals,  like  the  Curiones,  were 
not  considered  as  such.  At  any  i-ate,  the  want  of  the  fasti  is 
compensated  for,  as  regards  the  Atrium,  by  the  magnificent  set  of 
pedestals,  with  statues  and  eulogistic  inscriptions,  raised  in  honor 
of  the  Vestales  maximse.  The  fashion  of  these  dedications  seems 
to  have  come  in  with  the  Empire,  and  was  kept  until  the  fall  of 
the  pagan  superstition.  The  Atrium  Vestse  must  have  contained 
more  than  one  hundred  "honorary"  pedestals,  not  because  there 
were  as  many  abbesses  during  the  last  four  centuries  of  Vesta's 
worship,  but  because  many  statues  represented  and  many  pedestals 
bore  the  name  of  the  same  lady.  The  stone-cutters  and  the  lime- 
burners  of  the  Middle  Ages  have  destroyed  more  than  four  fifths 
of  this  series.  We  possess  actually  the  originals  or  the  copies  of 
thirty-six  inscriptions  bearing  names  of  Vestales  maxinue  of  these, 
twenty-eight  were  found  in  the  Atrium  itself,  two  on  the  Palatine, 
six  in  various  other  quarters  of  the  town.     Comparing  the  infox'- 


THE   HOUSE    OF   THE    VESTALS  220 

mation  given  by  these  marbles  with  tlie  accounts  of  classical 
writers,  we  can  put  together  an  important  section  of  the  fasti 
7naximatus  (the  word  maxhiiatus  has  appeared  for  the  first  time  in 
one  of  the  new  inscriptions). 

1.  Occia.  She  presided  over  the  sisterhood  from  the  year  38 
B.  c.  to  A,  D.  19.     (Tacitus,  Ann.,  ii.  86.) 

2.  Junia  Torquata,  daughter  of  Silanus,  the  noblest  of  the  noble 
Roman  ladies ;  maxima  between  a.  d.  19  and  48. 

3.  Vibidia,  the  generous  protector  of  INIessalina  when  the  long 
story  of  her  infamies  was  disclosed  to  Claudius.  (Tacitus,  Ann., 
xi.  32.) 

4.  Cornelia  Maxima,  murdered  by  Domitiau.    (Pliny,  Ep.,  iv.  11.) 

5.  Prsetextata.  Her  name  appeared  for  the  first  time  on  a  ped- 
estal discovered  December  29,  1883 :  "  Prjetextata;  Crassi  Filise 
Virgini  Vestali  Maxima*,  C.  lulius  Creticus  a  Sacris."  Her  mo- 
ther, "  Sulpicia  Crassi  uxor,"  is  mentioned  by  Tacitus  (Hist.,  iv.  42). 

6.  Numisia  Maximilla,  a.  d.  200.  Two  pedestals  mention  her 
name  —  one  found  tliree  centuries  ago,  one  discovered  on  Decem- 
ber 29,  1883,  "Xumisia?  jNIaximillse  V.V.  Maximaj,  C.  Helvidius 
Mysticus  devotus  beneficiis  eius." 

7.  Terentia  Flavola,  A.  d.  215,  whose  name  is  engraved  on  four 
pedestals,  was  the  great-granddaughter  of  Lollianus  Avitus,  con- 
sul in  A.  D.  114 ;  the  granddaughter  of  L.  Iledius  Rufus  Lollianus 
Avitus,  consul  in  a.  d.  144 ;  the  daughter  of  Q.  Hedius  Rufus  Lolli- 
anus Gentianus,  Salius  Palatinus  and  consul  of  uncertain  date. 
She  had,  moreover,  two  brothers,  Lollianus  Plautius  Avitus,  hus- 
band of  Claudia  Sestia  Cocceia  Severiana,  and  Terentius  Gentianus, 
husband  of  Pomponia  Pietina. 

8.  Campia  Severina,  a.  d.  240. 

9.  Flavia  Mamilia,  A.  d,  242. 

10.  Flavia  Publicia,  a.  d.  247.  This  lady  was  undoubtedly  the 
most  famous  and  venerable  chief  of  the  order.  Her  eulogies  and 
her  pedestals  have  been  discovei-ed  in  vast  numbers.  Judging 
from  the  appearance  of  the  exquisite  statue  discovered,  together 
with  one  of  her  pedestals,  on  December  20,  Flavia  Publicia  was 
a  lady  of  tall,  queenly  appearance,  of  noble  demeanor,  of  a  sweet 
and  gentle,  if  not  handsome  face.  Seven  pedestals  have  been 
found,  —  one  in  1497,  one  in  1.549,  five  in  our  own  excavations. 
Of  these  recent  ones  the  first  was  dedicated  on  July  11,  247  A.  d., 
by  her  niece  ^^milia  Rogatilla,  and  by  Minucius  Honoratus,  son 
of  iEmilia ;  the  second  by  two  captains  of  the  army,  Ulpius  Yerus 
and  Aurelius  Titus;  the  third  was  dedicated  on  September  30, 


230  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

A.  D.  257,  by  a  certain  Bareius  Zoticus,  with  his  wife  Flavia 
Verecunda ;  the  fourth  by  a  M.  Aurelius  Hermes ;  the  last  by 
T.  Flavins  Ajsronius,  a  sub-iiitendant  of  the  monastery. 

11.  Coelia  Claudiuna,  a.  d.  286.  This  abbess  was  already 
known  from  five  inscriptions  discovered  at  various  times.  The 
two  others  lately  found  tell  nothing  remarkable,  except  that  she 
is  said  to  have  ruled  over  twenty  years. 

12.  Terentia  Rufilla.,  a.  d.  300. 

13.  On  November  5th,  a  pedestal  was  discovered  bearing  the 
following  inscription :  "  Ob  meritum  castitatis,  pudicitise,  atque 
in  sacris  religionib usque  doctrines  mirabilis  .  .  .  [name  erased] 
virgini  Vestali  maxima^,  Pontifices  viri  clarissimi,  pro  magistro 
Macrinio  Sossiano  viro  clarissimo,  pro  meritis."  Then  follows 
the  date  of  June  9,  a.  d.  364  :  "  dedicata  quinto  idus  lunias,  divo 
loviano  et  Varroniano  consulibus."  Now,  why  should  the  name 
of  this  highly  praised  priestess  have  been  erased?  Two  reasons 
only  can  be  given :  either  she  happened  to  forget  the  vows  of 
chastity,  or  she  was  converted  to  Christianity.  The  first  expla- 
nation does  not  seem  satisfactory,  not  only  because  she  was  most 
probably  a  mature,  if  not  an  old  woman,  when  the  crime  and 
the  memorlce.  damnaiio  took  place,  but  also  because  the  fall  of  a 
Vestal  would  certainly  have  been  noticed  and  registered  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  four  winds  by  contemporary  Christian  writers. 
Conversion  to  the  Gospel  seems  more  probable ;  one  of  these  con- 
quests of  the  new  faith  in  Vesta's  Atrium  seems  to  be  mentioned 
by  Prudentius  (Peristeph.,  hymn  2). 

14.  Coelia  Concordia,  the  last  Vesialis  maxima,  or  the  last  bixt 
one.  She  was  a  great  friend  of  the  great  champion  of  polytheism, 
Vettius  Agorius  Pmetextatus.  Some  of  her  exploits  have  been 
revealed  by  the  discovery  of  a  pedestal  in  the  house  of  Prtetextatus 
himself,  which  house  stood  where  is  now  the  Convento  dei  Liguo- 
rini,  formerly  the  Villa  Caserta,  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Merulana 
and  the  Via  dell'  Arco  di  S.  Vito.  Ccelia  Concordia  had  raised  a 
statue  in  honor  of  Prsetextatus  in  the  Atrium  itself ;  she  received 
the  same  distinction  in  the  house  of  that  nobleman.  The  statue 
of  Prsetextatus  was  discovered  in  the  Atrium  the  last  day  of  1883. 

In  tlie  four  months  during  whicli  the  excavations  lasted,  36,000 
cubic  metres  of  earth  were  carted  away  and  the  following  objects 
discovered :  jNIarble  pedestals  with  inscriptions,  13 ;  inscriptions 
on  marble  slabs,  12;  brick-stamps,  102;  silver  coins,  835;  gold 
coin,  1 ;  pieces  of  jewelry,  2 ;  busts  and  heads,  15 ;  statues,  11 ; 
important  pieces  of  statues,  7;  columns  or  pieces  of  columns  of 
breccia  corallina,  cipollino,  and  bigio,  11. 


THE    HOUSE    OF    THE    VESTALS  231 

The  most  remarkable  find  was  that  of  a  ripostiglio,  or  hidden 
treasure  of  Anglo-Saxon  coins,  made  on  November  8,  1883,  under 
the  remains  of  a  mediaeval  house  built  within  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  Atrium.  About  a  metre  and  a  half  above  the  ancient  pave- 
ment our  men  found  a  rough  terra-cotta  jug  containing  832  silver 
coins,  one  of  gold,  and  a  piece  of  jewelry  inscribed  "  Domno 
Marino  Papa." 

The  gold  coin,  a  solidus,  shows  on  one  side  the  head  and  the 
name  of  the  Byzantine  Emperor  Theophilus  (827-84"2),  on  the 
other  side  the  busts  of  JMichael  and  Constantine  VIII.  The  piece 
proves  only  that  the  treasure  was  not  buried  before  the  first  half 
of  the  lunth  centmy,  and  proves  nothing  else,  as  Byzantine  solidi 
have  been  used  both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  for  centuries ;  in 
fact,  a  few  of  them  were  still  current  not  many  years  ago  in  some 
Turkish  provinces.  In  the  Middle  Ages  they  were  the  standard 
international  currency;  the  Merovingian  kings  even  struck  a 
certain  number  of  these  coins  with  the  effigies  and  names  of 
.Justinus,  of  Justinian,  and  so  forth.  Of  the  832  silver  denarii, 
828  are  Anglo-Saxon,  one  from  Ratisbon,  one  from  Limoges,  two 
from  Pavia.  The  Anglo-Saxon  group  is  subdivided  as  follows  : 
Coins  with  the  legend  aelfred  rex,  3;  with  eadvveakd  rex, 
217;  with  aethelstax  uex,  393;  with  eadmvnd  rex,  195; 
with  oxLAF  (Anlaf,  Anlef)  rex  or  cvxvxc,  G;  with  sitrice 
CVNVNC,  1 ;  with  the  name  of  archbishop  plegmvnd,  4 ;  uncer- 
tain. 10 ;  total,  829.     Of  ^Ethelstan's  coins,  2  were  struck  at  Bath, 

1  at  Canterbury,  1  at  Chichester,  1  at  Dartmouth,  4  at  Derby,  20 
at  Dorchester,  6  at  Exeter,  16  at  York,  2  at  Hertford,  1  at  Lewes, 

2  at  Longport,  25  at  Leicester,  66  at  London,  1  at  ^Maldon,  14 
at  Norwich,  9  at  Oxford,  7  at  Shrewsbury,  1  at  Shaftesbury,  3  at 
Stafford,  14  at  Winchester,  13  at  Wallingford,  3  at  tolie  (?). 
The  names  of  the  monttarii  are  nearly  as  numerous  as  the  coins 
tliemselves.  The  piece  of  jewelry  is  a  kind  of  fibula  or  broocli, 
witli  silver  designs  and  letters  iidaid  on  copper.  It  is  a  unique 
piece,  not  only  as  a  work  of  art  of  a  Roman  goldsmith  of  the 
tenth  century,  but  because  fibula'  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
the  living  pope  are  not  to  be  found.  It  was  certainly  used  to 
fasten  on  the  shoulder  the  mantle  of  some  high  official  belonging 
to  the  court  of  ]Marinus  II.,  a  pontiff  otherwise  obscure,  who 
occupied  the  chair  of  S.  Peter  from  942  to  946 ;  Albericus  being 
tlien  the  Princeps  romanorum  and  Edmund  the  King  of  England. 
This  official  must  have  been  in  charge  of  the  pope's  episcopium, 
which  nestled  among  the  ruins  of   the   palace  of  Caligula  (see 


232  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

p.  155),  and  must  have  been  paid  with  "  Peter's  pence "  from 
England.  His  small  house,  destroyed  in  1884,  rested  on  the  three 
pedestals  of  Ccelia  Claudiana,  of  the  condemned  Vestal,  No.  13, 
and  of  Flavia  Publicia,  which  one  finds  on  the  right-hand  side  of 
the  entrance  (letter  A  in  plan). 

The  foundations  of  an  octagonal  shrine,  purposely  and  deliber- 
ately leveled  to  the  ground,  appear  in  the  centre  of  the  cloisters. 
This  shrine  contained  probably  the  "  sacra  fatalia,"  the  sacred 
tokens  of  the  Roman  commonwealth,  like  the  Palladium,  intrusted 
to  the  care  of  the  Vestals.  We  believe  that  the  destruction  of 
this  innermost  sanctuary  was  accomplished  by  the  Vestals  them- 
selves in  the  last  days  preceding  the  suppression  of  the  order  and 
their  banishment  from  the  cloisters,  A.  d.  394:. 

In  a  room  near  the  southeast  corner,  marked  B  in  the  plan,  is 
the  ]nill  used  by  the  Vestals  to  grind  meal  with  which  the  "  mola 
salsa,"  a  most  primitive  kind  of  cake,  was  prepared  on  February 
15  of  each  year,  during  the  celebration  of  the  Lupercalia. 

The  House  of  the  Vestals  has  lost  much  of  its  fascinating 
interest  since  the  best  works  of  art,  busts,  statues,  portraits,  and 
inscriptions,  pertaining  to  it,  have  been  removed  to  the  baths  of 
Diocletian. 

Literature. — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  JJ atria  cli  Vesta,  con  appendice  delcomm. 
de  Rossi.     Rome,  Salviucci,  1884.  —  Costantino  Maes,  Vesta  e  Vestali.     Rome, 

1883.  —  Henirich  Jordan,  Dei'  Tempel  der  Vesta  und  das  Haus  der  Vestalinnen. 
Berlin,  1884. — Hans  Auer,  Der  Tempel  derVesta  und  das  Haus  der  Vestalinnen, 
Vienna,  1888.  —  J.  Henry  Middleton,  The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  i.  p. 
229. — Joachim  INIarquardt,  Stuatsverwalfrmg,  vol.  iii.  p.  32-3.  —  Bull.  Inst., 

1884,  p.  145.— J/i»Ae?7.,  1889,  p.  245;  1891,  p.  91 ;  1892,  t^.  287.  — Atti  Accad. 
archeoL,  1890,  p.  407. 

THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

XXI.  Forum  Romanum  Magnum  (XXII  in  plan,  and  Fig.  93). 
—  We  have  now  come  to  the  most  interesting  part  of  our  walk, 
to  the  chief  attraction  of  this  attractive  district,  to  the  Forum 
Romanum  Magnum,  where  for  so  many  centuries  the  destinies  of 
the  ancient  world  were  swayed. 

At  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  Rome  the  bartering  trade 
between  the  various  tribes  settled  on  the  heights  of  the  left  bank 
of  the  Tiber  was  concentrated  in  the  hollow  ground  between  the 
Palatine,  the  Capitoline,  and  the  Quirinal.  Around  this  elemen- 
tary marketplace,  bordering  on  the  marshes  of  the  lesser  Velabrum, 
were  a  few  conical  straw  huts,  such  as  the  one  in  which  the  public 
fire  was  kept,  afterwards  the  Temple  of  Vesta.  There  were  also 
clay  pits  on  the  north  side,  from  which  the  neighborhood  took 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM  233 

the  name  of  Argiletuin,  and  stone  quarries  under  the  Capitoline 
called  Lautumia%  afterwards  transformed  into  a  state  prison.  The 
market-place  was  well  supplied  with  drinking-water  from  local 
springs,  like  the  Tullianum  (which  tradition  has  transformed  into 
a  miraculous  feature  of  S.  Peter's  prison)/  and  the  spring  of 
Juturna,  described  on  p.  124. 

According  to  the  Roman  legend,  Romulus  and  Tatius,  after  the 
mediation  of  the  Sabine  women,  met  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  battle  had  been  fought,  and  made  peace  and  an  alliance.  The 
spot,  a  low,  damp,  grassy  field,  exposed  to  the  floods  of  the  river 
Spinon  (p.  29),  took  the  name  of  "  Comitium "  from  the  verb 
coiVe,  to  assemble.  It  is  possible  that,  in  consequence  of  the 
alliance,  a  road  connecting  the  Sabine  and  the  Roman  settlements 
was  made  across  these  swamps ;  it  became  afterwards  the  Sacra 
Via.  TuUus  Hostilius,  the  third  king,  built  a  stone  inclosure  on 
the  Comitium,  for  the  meeting  of  the  Senators,  named  from  him 
Curia  Ilostilia;  then  came  the  state  prison  built  by  Ancus  Mar- 
cius  in  one  of  the  quarries  (the  Tullianum).  The  Tarquins 
drained  the  land,  transformed  the  unruly  river  Spinon  into  the 
Cloaca  Maxima,  gave  the  Forum  a  regular  (trapezoidal)  shape, 
divided  the  space  around  its  borders  into  building-lots,  and  sold 
them  to  private  speculators  for  shops  and  houses,  the  fronts  of 
which  were  to  be  lined  with  porticoes. 

These  shops,  so  closely  connected  with  the  early  life  of  Rome, 
were  at  the  beginning  of  the  commonest  kind:  butchers'  stalls 
(afterwards  replaced  by  the  Basilica  Sempronia)  and  butchers' 
shops,  from  which  Virginius  took  the  knife  to  stab  his  daughter. 
Other  tabernai  were  occupied  by  schools  for  children,  where  Ap- 
pius  Claudius  first  saw  Virginia  reading.  As  the  dignity  of  the 
place  increased,  ordinary  tradesmen  disappeared  and  their  shops 
were  occupied  by  goldsmiths,  silversmiths,  money-changers,  and 
usurers.  Hence  the  name  "  taberna;  argentariae,"  applied,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  to  all  the  shops ;  as  a  distinctive  name,  to  those  on  the 
north  side.  On  the  occasion  of  the  triumph  of  L.  Papirius,  dic- 
tator in  308  B.  c,  the  gilt  shields  of  the  Samnites  were  distributed 
among  the  owners  of  the  argentariae  to  decorate  their  shop  fronts. 
There  were  two  rows  of  them,  on  either  of  the  longer  sides  of  the 
Forum :  one  called  the  tahernce  vetei'es  (septem  tabernce)  on  the 
shady  or  south  side ;  one  called  the  tahernce  novce  or  argentarice 

1  See  Der  mamertinische  Kerker  u.  die  romischen  Traditionen  vom  Gefdng- 
nisse  und  den  Ketten  Petri,  von  H.  Grisar,  S.  J.,  in  Zeitschrift  fur  hath. 
Theologie,  xx.  Jahrgang,  1896,  p.  102. 


of  Rome. 

B.  C. 

257 

4U7 

258 

400 

270 

484 

364 

390 

387 

367 

391 

303 

234  .1    WALK   THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

on  the  sunny  or  north  side.     The  same  were  designated  concisely 
with  the  formula  "  sub  veteribus,  sub  novis." 

It  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the  present  chapter  to 
follow  stage  by  stage  the  develojDment  of  the  market-place  into  a 
magnificent  forum  surrounded  by  stately  edifices.  The  chronology 
of  its  monumental  transformation  u^j  to  the  time  of  Augustus  may 
be  found  in  the  following  table.  Compare  the  "  Geschichte  des 
Forum  Comitium  und  der  Sacra  Via  "  in  Jordan's  "  Topographie," 
i"^,  p.  315. 

e.    B.  c. 

September  17.  —  'Eemple   of   Saturn  dedicated  by  the 

consuls  A.  Senipronius  and  M.  Minicius. 
Apparition  of  the  Dioscuri  by  the  spring  of  Juturna. 
January  27.  —  Dedication  of  the  Temple  of  the  Dioscuri. 
Temple  of  Vesta  burnt  by  the  Gauls  and  rebuilt. 
Erection  of  the  Temple  of  Concoi-d  voted  by  the  Senate. 
The  legendarj-  chasm  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 

Palatine. 
416  338        Rostra   decorated   with    beaks   from   the    fleet    of    the 

Antiates. 
Chapel  of  Cn.  Flavins  on  the  Graecostasis. 
Tabula  Valeria  painted  on  the  east  side  of  the  Curia. 
First  sun-dial  erected  by  M.  Valerius  Messala. 
Columna  rostrata  of  C.  Duilius. 
Temple  of  Vesta  burnt  and  rebuilt. 
Regia  destroyed  hy  tire  and  rebuilt. 
The  first  Basilica  or  court-house,  built  by  M.  Porcius 

Cato  the  elder  (Basilica  Porcia). 
Basilica  Fulvia,  by  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior. 
Basilica  Sempronia,  by  T.  Scmpronius  Gracchus. 
Second  sun-dial,  by  L.  Marcius  Philippus. 
First  clepsydra,  by  P.  Scipio  Nasica. 
Regia  destroyed  by  fire  and  rebuilt. 
Reconstruction  of  tlie  Temple  of  Concord  by  L.  Opimius, 

voted  by  the  Senate. 
Basilica  Opimia,  by  L.  Opimius. 
Fornix  Fabianus,  by  Q.  Fabius  Allobrogicus. 
Temple    of    Castor   rel)uilt    by   L.    Ca'cilius    Metellus 

Dalmaticus. 
670  78        Basilica  Fulvia  (/Emilia)  restored  by  M.  jEmilius  Lepi- 

dus. 
680  74        Tribunal  Aurelium,  by  L.  Aurelius  Cotta. 

It  is  evident  that  a  forum  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Kings 
must  soon  have  become  inadequate  for  its  purpose,  and  for  the 
requirements  of  an  ever-increasing  poisulation ;  its  area,  besides, 
was  so  crowded  with   statues,  tribunes,  altars,  putealia,  and  ob- 


450 

304 

490 

264 

491 

203 

494 

260 

513 

241 

544 

210 

570 

184 

575 

179 

585 

169 

590 

104 

595 

157 

606 

148 

633 

121 

633 

121 

633 

121 

637 

117 

THE   nOMAN  FORUM  235 

stacles  of  every  description  tliat  we  wonder  how  public  meetings 
could  be  held  within  its  precincts.  In  159  b.  c.  P.  Scipio  and 
M.  Popilius,  censors,  ordered  the  removal  from  the  Forum  of  all 
statues  of  magistrates  unless  they  had  been  erected  by  decree  of 
the  S.  P.  Q.  K. ;  and  yet  we  hear,  at  the  Rostra  alone,  of  the 
statues  of  the  four  Roman  ambassadors  murdered  by  the  Fidenates 
in  438  B.  c. ;  of  the  two  Junii  Coruncanii,  murdered  by  Tenta, 
queen  of  the  Illyrians,  in  229 ;  of  Cu.  Octavius,  assassinated  at 
Laodicaea  in  162  while  on  a  mission  to  the  Syi'ian  court;  of 
Servius  Sulpicius  the  jurist,  who  died  in  the  camp  at  Mutina  in 
43 ;  of  Camillus  the  dictator,  who,  as  an  example  of  the  ancient 
simplicity  of  dress,  was  clothed  in  a  toga  without  tunic;  of  C. 
Maenius  (equestrian),  who  conquered  the  Latins  in  338  ;  of  Sulla; 
of  Pompeius  ;  of  Lepidus  ;  of  Julius  C»sar  ;  of  young  Octavianus  ; 
and  lastly,  of  the  three  Sibyls,  which  Pliny  classifies  among  the 
earliest  works  of  the  kind  in  Rome.^ 

Besides  these  obstacles,  the  Forum  and  its  vicinity  were  crowded 
by  certain  classes  of  people,  not  very  distinguished,  who  so  con- 
stantly haunted  certain  points  and  corners  of  the  place  that  they 
were  nicknamed  from  them.  Thus  we  hear  of  the  Subrostrani, 
lawyers  without  employment,  keeping  themselves  by  the  Rostra  in 
search  of  prey ;  of  the  Canalicolce,  described  by  Paul  the  Deacon  as 
"  homines  pauperes  qui  circa  canales  fori  consistebaut ;  "  and  in  a 
general  way  of  the  forenses,  so  graphically  described  by  Plautus 
(Curculio,  iv.  1). 

One  of  the  first  steps  to  refoi'ui  this  state  of  things  was  taken 
in  the  seventh  century  of  Rome  by  the  construction  of  a  fish-mar- 
ket {forum  piscatorium),  in  consequence  of  which  the  fishmongers, 
who  poisoned  the  clients  of  the  court-houses  with  the  offensive 
smell  of  their  merchandise,  were  driven  away  from  the  porticoes 
of  the  basilica?.  These  basilicpe,  —  the  Porcia,  oldest  of  all,  built 
by  the  elder  Cato  in  184  near  the  Curia;  the  Sempronia,  erected  in 
109  on  the  line  of  the  tabernre  veteres ;  the  Opimia,  in  121,  by  the 
Temple  of  Concord;  and  the  Fulvia  ^-Emilia,  179-178,  by  the  Via 
Argiletana,  —  as  theyM'^ere  surrounded  by  porticoes  accessible  both 
by  day  and  by  night,  increased  the  public  accommodation  to  some 
extent. 

The  grand  era  of  transformation  begins  with  the  year  700  (54 
B.  c),  when  L.  iEmilius  Paullus  bought  ]irivate  property  on  the 
north  side  and  built  his  superb  Basilica  ^Emilia.     The  reason  for 

1  See  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  pp.  79,  8(5-89,  20-3,  2]7;  and  Tliedeiiat, 
in  Daremberg  and  Sagliu's  Diclionnairc,  ]>.  1281. 


236  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

such  a  costly  undertaking  (about  12,000,000  francs)  is  given  by 
Cicero  :  ut  forum  laxaremus,  to  enlarge  the  Forum.  The  work  of 
iEmilius  Paullus  was  continued  by  Julius  Caesar,  who  purchased 
other  private  property  and  built  an  extension  —  the  Forum  Ju- 
lium  —  at  a  cost  of  20,000,000  francs.  This  happened  between 
the  years  700  and  708  (54  and  46  b.  c).  Augustus  followed  the 
example  of  Csesar,  and,  in  continuation  of  the  two  fora,  built  a 
third  one  named  Forum  Augustum  or  Forum  Martis,  from  the 
Temple  of  Mars  the  Avenger,  which  stood  at  one  end  of  it.  Au- 
gustus himself  explains  in  his  "  Res  gestae  "  the  necessity  of  this 
work,  by  the  inadequacy  of  the  two  existing  fora  for  the  transac- 
tion of  business  and  the  administration  of  justice.  It  took  him 
forty  years  to  finish  the  structure,  from  712  to  August  1,  752  (42 
to  2  B.  c).  During  this  lapse  of  time  the  old  Forum  Romanum 
had  been,  in  its  turn,  vastly  improved,  as  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing summary  :  — 

Year  of  Rome.      b.  c. 

702  52  The  Curia,  the  Basilica  Porcia,  and  several  houses 

burnt  down  by  the  Clodians.  The  Temple  of 
Felicitas  built  on  the  site  of  the  Curia  in  705. 
Substituted  once  more  by  the  Curia  Julia  in  710. 
Dedicated  by  Augustus  in  725. 

708  46  First  Basilica  Julia  dedicated  by  Julius  Ciesar  ;  Sub 

Veteribus  rebuilt  and  enlarged  by  Augustus  in 
742. 

708  46  Lacus  Servilius  embellished  by  Agrippa. 

710  44  The  Rostra  Julia  built  at  the  other  (ea-st)  end  of  the 

Forum. 

712  42  Temple  of  Saturn  rebuilt  by  L.  Munatius  Plancus. 

718  36  The   Regia   rebuilt  by  Domitius    Calvinus.     Fasti 

consulares  engraved  the  same  yeai',  fasti  trium- 
phales  between  736  and  742. 

725  29  August   18.  —  Temple  of  Ca-sar  dedicated  by  Au- 

gustus, and  triumphal  arch  of  Augustus  dedi- 
cated near  the  temple  bj'  the  S.  P.  Q.  R. 

745  9  Altar    of   Vulcan  dedicated   by  Augustus   on  the 

Volkanal. 

747  7  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  restored  by  Tiberius. 

We  can  add  to  the  list  the  restoration  of  the  Temple  of  Con- 
cordia by  Tiberius  in  763  (10  A.  d.)  ;  that  of  the  state  prison  by  C. 
Vibius  and  M.  Cocceius  about  the  same  date  ;  the  erection  of  an 
altar  to  Ops  by  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  August  10,  760  (a.  d.  7) ; 
and  that  of  a  triumphal  arch  of  Tiberius  in  769  (a.  d.  16). 

From  the  age  of  Tiberius  to  that  of  Constantine  the  history  of 


THE   ROMAN   FORUM  237 

the  Forum  is  represented  by  four  great  fires  followed  by  three 
great  restorations,  in  the  course  of  which  the  space  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  crowds  is  vastly  increased,  new  buildings  are 
added,  new  art  collections  formed,  etc.  The  first  is  the  fire  of 
Nero,  A.  D.  65,  which  lasted  six  days  and  seven  nights,  destroyed 
three  regions  of  the  city,  and  damaged  seven  more.  The  Regia, 
the  temples  of  Vesta  and  of  Jupiter  Stator,  the  Curia,  the  Graeco- 
stasis,  the  Temple  of  Janus,  and  the  region  of  the  Argiletum  as 
far  as  the  Carinse,  were  devastated  by  the  flames.  The  second  is 
the  tire  of  Titus,  a.  d.  80. 

Vespasian  and  Domitian  repaired  the  damages  of  both,  and  in 
doing  this  they  added  two  fora  to  the  three  already  existing,  the 
Forum  Pacis  and  the  Forum  Transitorium. 

Vespasian  began  by  clearing  and  rejsairing  the  streets  "  deformes 
veteribus  incendiis  atque  minis,"  ^  and  the  temples,  for  which  he 
was  rewarded  with  the  title  of  "  Restitutor  iEdium  Sacrarum."  ^ 
Then  he  took  up  a  large  section  of  the  burnt  land  between  the 
Sacra  Via  and  the  Carina,  and  erected  on  it  a  splendid  temple  to 
Peace,  surrounded  by  a  large  open  space,  which  must  have  served, 
like  the  fora  of  Julius  and  Augustus,  to  relieve  the  Forum  Ro- 
manum.  He  also  rebuilt  the  temples  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus  and 
of  Claudius  on  the  Coelian  hill,  and  began  the  construction  of  the 
amphitheatre. 

In  a  short  reign  of  two  years  Titus  (a.  d.  79-81)  could  do  little 
more  than  complete  the  buildings  which  his  father  had  left  unfin- 
ished, like  the  amphitheatre,  which  he  dedicated  in  the  year  80. 
At  the  same  time  another  frightful  conflagration,  which  raged 
for  three  days  and  three  nights,  stopped  all  work.  The  fire  of 
Titus  was  particularly  destructive  in  the  region  of  the  Circus 
Flaminius,  lying  under  the  Capitoline  hill,  as  well  as  on  the  hill 
itself. 

Domitian,  youngest  son  of  Vespasian,  rebuilt  a  large  area  on  the 
north  and  west  sides  of  the  Forum,  under  a  new  piano  regolatore, 
the  orientation  of  which  is  parallel  with  the  Via  Argiletana  (and  the 
fora  of  Augustus,  of  Csesar,  and  of  Peace),  not  with  the  Sacra  Via. 
The  copious  list  of  his  buildings  comprises  the  transformation  of 
the  Via  Argiletana  into  the  Forum  Transitorium  ;  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Temple  of  Janus,  of  the  Curia  Julia,  of  the  Grseco- 
stasis,  of  the  Regia  and  the  House  of  the  Vestals,^  of  the  Meta 

1  Suetonius,  Vesjias.,  8  ;  and  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  931. 

2  Ihkl.,  n.  9.34. 

8  Thedenat,  in  Daremberg  and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1290,  n.  12-14. 


238  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

Sudans ;  the  construction  of  the  horrea  piperataria,  of  the  Temple 
of  Vespasian  and  Titus  on  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  of  the  Ai'ch 
of  Titus  on  tlie  Summa  Sacra  Via ;  and  the  completion  of  the 
amphitheatre.  In  memory  of  these  architectural  exploits,  an 
equestrian  statue  was  raised  to  him  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum, 
the  description  of  which  by  Statins  (Silv.,  i.  i)  is  a  fundamental 
text  for  the  topography  of  this  classic  district. 

Shortly  before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Commodus,  a.  d.  191, 
another  fire,  which  lasted  several  days,  swept  over  the  region  of 
the  Sacra  Via.  It  began  in  a  house  near  the  Temple  of  Peace, 
after  a  slight  shock  of  earthquake.  The  temple  was  leveled  to 
the  ground ;  hence  the  fire  spread  to  the  spice-warehouses  of  Do- 
mitian,  and  from  them,  over  the  Sacra  Via  and  the  Atrium  and 
Temple  of  Vesta,  to  tlie  Palace  of  the  Cjesars,  a  great  part  of  which 
was  desti'oyed,  together  with  the  archives  of  the  Empire.  "  It  was 
on  this  occasion  that  Galen's  shop  on  the  Sacra  Via  was  burnt 
down,  when,  as  he  tells  us  himself,  he  lost  some  of  his  works  of 
which  there  were  no  other  copies  in  I\ome.  The  fire  was  extin- 
guished at  last  by  a  heavy  fall  of  rain."  ^ 

The  damages  were  repaired  by  Septimius  Severus,  by  his  Em- 
press, Julia  Domna,  and  by  his  son,  Caracalla,  with  the  adoption 
of  a  new  piano  regolatore,  in  consequence  of  which  the  orientation 
of  edifices  on  the  Clivus  Sacer  was  shifted  by  33°.  This  change 
appears  most  evident  in  the  map  of  the  Clivus  Sacer  (p.  207,  Fig. 
82),  in  which  the  ruins  anterior  to  the  fire  of  191  are  marked  in 
black,  those  from  191  downwards  in  a  lighter  tint.  It  is  necessary 
to  remind  the  reader  that  the  excavations  of  the  Forum  and  of  the 
Palatine  have  nowhere  been  carried  to  the  proper  depth.  We  have 
satisfied  ourselves  with  laying  bare  the  remains  of  the  late  Empire, 
without  taking  care  to  explore  the  earlier  and  deeper  strata.  The 
foundations  of  the  triumphal  arch  of  Augustus  were  discovered  in 
1888  hardly  ten  inches  below  the  level  at  which  the  excavations  of 
1872  had  stopped.  The  water-tank  of  Mykenean  shape  discovered 
on  the  Palatine  while  this  book  was  in  the  press  (August,  1896)  had 
actually  been  seen  in  1876,  but  not  excavated  because  it  lay  lower 
than  the  surrounding  ruins.  We  are  still  discussing  the  exact 
location  of  the  Arch  of  Fabius,  when  it  could  be  ascertained  de 
facto  by  scraping  away  a  few  inches  of  ground. 

Severus  and  Caracalla  repaired  or  rebuilt  a  fundamentis  the 
Temple  of  Vesta,  the  House  of  the  Vestals,  the  Templum  Sacrse 

1  Thomas  Dyer,  A  History  of  the  Cily  of  Rome,  ed.  1865,  p.  203. 


THE   ROM  AX   FORUM  239 

Urbis,  that  of  Vespasian,  the  Porticus  ^largaritaria,  and  the  front 
of  the  palace  on  the  Xova  Via.  Their  names  are  commemorated 
forever  in  the  F'oruui,  in  the  triumphal  arch  erected  in  203  on  the 
border-line  of  the  Comitium. 

We  have  no  definite  account  of  the  fire  of  283  under  Carinus. 
Judging  from  the  works  of  repair  which  it  necessitated,  it  must 
have  raged  from  the  foot  of  the  Capitoline  to  the  top  of  the 
Sacra  Via,  from  the  Vicus  Jugarius  to  the  Temple  of  Venus  and 
Rome. 

Diocletian  repaii'ed  the  Basilica  Julia,  the  Grjecostasis  (?),  and 
the  Forum  Julium,  and  rebuilt  the  Senate-house  from  its  founda- 
tions. Maxentius  repaired  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome,  and 
built  the  heroon  of  his  son  Romidus,  and  the  great  basilica  after- 
wards named  from  Constantiue.  Tlie  monumental  columns  which 
stand  on  the  edge  of  tlie  Forum,  opposite  the  Basilica  Julia,  date 
also  from  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century. 

The  first  incident  in  the  history  of  the  destruction  of  the  Forum 
is  the  abolition  of  pagan  worship.  In  383  Gratianus  did  away  with 
the  privileges  of  temjiles  and  j^riests,  and  confiscated  their  revenues. 
In  391  Valentinian  and  Theodosius  prohibited  sacrifices,  even  if 
strictly  domestic  and  private.  This  brought  the  pagan  faction  to 
open  rebellion,  as  related  at  lengtli  in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  173. 
After  the  defeat  of  the  rebel  leader  Eugenius,  which  took  place  on 
September  6,  391,  temples  were  closed  forever ;  but  this  measure 
contributed,  for  the  time  being,  to  the  embellishment  more  than 
to  the  spoliation  of  the  Forum  and  its  surroundings,  because  the 
beautiful  statues  of  the  gods,  removed  from  tlieir  altars,  were  set 
up  again,  as  mere  works  of  Greek  art,  in  public  places  like  law- 
courts,  fora,  baths,  main  thoroughfares,  etc.  Information  on  this 
point  is  supplied  by  — 

G.  B.  de  Rossi,  Bullettino  di  arch,  rrisf.,  ISO.'i,  p.  5  :  and  Bull,  della  comm. 
arch,  com.,  1874,  p.  174. —  Corpus  Iiucr.  Lat.,  vol.  vi.  p.  -356,  n.  1651-72. — 
Notizie  deyli  Scavi,  1895,  p.  459. 

The  Forum  was  tolerably  well  jDreserved  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century.  In  500  King  Theodoric  addi'essed  the  people  from 
the  Rostra,  promising  to  maintain  the  pri\nleges  granted  by  his 
predecessors,  and  the  words  of  his  promise  were  engraved  on  a 
bronze  tablet,  hung  probably  in  front  of  the  Senate-house.  The 
Anonym  us  of  Valesius,i  in  mentioning  these  events,  gives  to  this 
corner  of  the  old  Forum  the  name  ad  Palmam,  about  which  have 
written  — 


240  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

H.  Jordan,  Tojwgraphie,  vol.  i"-^,  p.  259,  n.  01.  —  Ferdinand  Gregorovius, 
Geschichte,  vol.  i.  p.  276.  —  G.  B.  de  Rossi,  Bull,  com.,  1887,  p.  64  ;  1889,  p. 
363. 

The  former  name  of  the  corner  was  in  trlbus  fails,  or  tria  fata, 
from  the  statues  of  the  three  Sibyls  mentioned  by  Pliny  (xxxiv.  11) 
iuxta  Rostra,  and  considered  to  rank  among  the  earliest  works  of 
the  kind  in  Rome.  The  new  denomination  ad  Palmam  originated 
from  a  statue  of  Claudius  Gothicus,  wearing  the  palm  of  victory 
(statua  Palmata),  which  stood  near  the  Arch  of  Sever  us.  It  soon 
extended  to  the  whole  neighborhood.  The  promulgation  of  the 
Codex  Theodosianus  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  438,  in  the  house 
of  Anicius  Glabrio  Faustus,  qum  est  ad  Palmam,  viz.,  near  the 
Senate-house.  The  same  house  is  called  domus  palmata  in  a 
letter  of  King  Theodoric.^  The  meeting  of  a  committee  of 
bishops  with  a  committee  of  senators,  which  took  place  here  in 
502  to  discuss  the  schism  of  Lawrence,  is  called  palmaris,  for  the 
same  reason. 

The  first  solemn  transformation  of  an  historical  building  near 
the  Forum  into  a  Christian  place  of  worship  took  place  about  526, 
when  Pope  Felix  IV.  dedicated  to  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damianus  the 
Templum  Sacrse  Urbis,  or  Record  Office.  In  630  the  Senate-house 
was  dedicated  to  S.  Hadrian  by  Honorius  I. ;  in  731  Gregory  III. 
rebuilt  the  oratory  of  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus  by  the  Temple  of 
Concord  and  the  chapel  of  the  Mamertine  Prison ;  in  760  Paul  I. 
rebuilt  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua  in  the  inner  hall  of  the 
Augusteum,  and  raised  a  new  one  to  S.  Peter  in  the  vestibule  of 
the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome  (transformed  in  850  by  Leo  TV. 
into  that  of  S.  Maria  Nova).  The  Temple  of  Antoninus  likewise 
was  placed  under  the  patronage  of  S.  Lawrence,  that  of  Janus 
under  that  of  S.  Dionysius,  the  offices  of  the  Senate  under  that  of 
S.  Martina,  the  Basilica  Julia  under  that  of  S.  Maria  de  Foro,  the 
^rarium  Saturni  under  that  of  the  Saviour.  The  Heroon  of 
Romulus,  son  of  Maxentius,  became  the  vestibule  of  SS.  Cosmas 
and  Damianus ;  the  so-called  Baths  of  Heliogabalus  on  the  Sacra 
Via  became  the  church  and  convent  of  S.  Csesarius  in  Palatio; 
the  Basilica  of  Constantine  was  christianized  under  a  name  un- 
known to  us.     (See  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  162.) 

The  buildings  mentioned  by  Procopius,  about  537,  are,  besides 
the  Forum  itself,  the  Senate-house,  the  Temple  of  Janus,  etc. 
He  also  states  that  many  statues  by  Pheidias  and  Lysippos  could 

1  Quoted  by  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  58. 

2  Cassiodorus,  Var.,  iv.  30. 


TEE   ROMAN  FORUM  241 

still  be  seen  in  Rome,  after  it  had  been  so  often  sacked.  In  546 
the  barbarians  of  Totila  looted  the  city  once  more ;  still  the 
Forum,  free  of  ruins,  continued  to  be  used  as  the  meeting-place  of 
the  remaining  population.  In  608  the  last  "  honorary  "  monu- 
ment, the  column  of  Phocas,  was  erected  in  the  middle  of  it,  with 
marbles  taken  from  some  neighboring  edifice.  A  few  years  later 
Pope  Honorius  I.  (625-640)  stripped  the  roof  of  the  Temple  of 
Venus  and  Rome  of  its  bronze  tiles,  which  could  not  but  hasten 
the  destruction  of  that  glorious  building.  In  663  a  Christian  em- 
peror, Constans  II.,  held  the  starving  and  ruined  city  to  ransom 
for  twelve  days,  inflicting  upon  it  more  damage  than  it  had  suf- 
fered at  the  hands  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals.  In  768  Stephen  III. 
was  elected  pope  in  a  popular  meeting,  held  in  tribus  fails  by  the 
Comitium. 

If  the  so-called  "  Itinerary  of  Einsiedlen  "  dates  really  from  the 
time  of  Charlemagne,  it  gives  us  a  very  detailed  account  of  the 
state  of  the  Forum  at  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  The 
monuments  registered  in  this  document  are :  the  arches  of  Severus, 
of  Titus,  and  of  Constantine ;  the  umbilicus  RomjB,  a  "  pendant  " 
to  the  golden  milestone ;  the  equestrian  statue  of  Constantine ;  the 
Curia  (S.  Adriano)  ;  the  Augusteum  (S.  M.  Antiqua)  ;  the  Tem- 
jilum  Sacrte  Urbis  (SS.  Cosmas  and  Damianus) ;  the  Temple  of 
Venus  and  Rome  (Palatium  Traiani) ;  and  the  Meta  Sudans. 
This  is  the  last  evidence  we  possess  of  the  Forum  retaining  its 
original  level. 

An  examination  of  the  state  of  its  pavement  shows  that  in 
former  times  carriages  could  not  cross  it,  on  account  of  police 
regulations  and  of  the  steps  (and  occasional  palisades)  by  which 
the  travertine  floor  was  surrounded.  However,  all  obstacles  were 
removed  after  the  fall  of  the  Empire.  Vehicles  were  then  allowed 
to  cross  the  Forum  diagonally  from  the  Argiletum  (by  S.  Adriano) 
to  the  Vicus  Tuscus  (by  S.  Teodoro)  and  vice  versa,  coming  in  and 
out  between  the  fii'st  and  second  pedestals  of  the  "  honorary " 
columns  on  the  Sacra  Via,  where  the  pavement  is  deeply  furrowed 
by  the  friction  of  wheels.  A  curbstone,  made  of  a  broken  column 
of  African  marble,  is  set  up  at  the  corner  of  the  first  pedestal  at 
the  turn  of  the  Sacra  Via. 

What  happened  to  the  Forum  from  the  ninth  to  the  fourteenth 
century  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  say.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
remind  the  student  how  negligently  excavations  were  made  up 
to  a  recent  date.  Their  purpose  wa^  to  reach  and  lay  bare  the 
classic  remains  of  the  Empire,  and  if  mediaeval  or  decadence  monu- 


242  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACEA    VIA 

ments  barred  the  way,  they  were  mercilessly  sacrificed.  We  have 
careful  descriptions  of  the  objects  discovered  in  these  excavations, 
—  inscriptions,  pedestals,  statues,  bas-reliefs,  columns,  etc.,  —  but 
not  a  word  is  said  about  the  way  they  were  lying  in  their  bed 
of  ruins,  at  what  depth,  whether  in  situ  or  overthrown,  whether 
belonging  to  the  place  of  discovery  or  brought  from  some  distance 
to  be  used  as  building-materials,  etc.  The  archaeologists  and  the 
excavators  of  the  Napoleonic  period,  Fea,  Nibby,  and  Amati, 
were  far  more  careful  in  noting  these  particulars,  the  only  means 
we  have  of  I'econstructing  the  history  of  the  decline  and  fall  of 
the  city. 

Take  the  Basilica  Julia,  as  an  illustration :  what  is  left  of 
the  noble  building  to  tell  the  tale  of  its  downfall?  The  steps 
leading  to  it  are  modern  for  the  greater  jaart,  and  so  are  the 
pavement,  the  pilasters  of  the  nave  and  aisles,  the  brick  arches 
towards  the  Vicus  Jugarius,  the  marble  pillars  of  the  Doric  order 
on  the  Sacra  Via,  tlie  opening  of  tlie  Cloaca  Maxima,  etc.  Even 
the  fragments  ari'anged  on  the  pilasters  are  not  all  found  on 
the  spot.  But  we  do  not  complain  of  restorations  so  much  as  of 
destructions.  I  have  just  said  that  part  of  the  Basilica  was  dedi- 
cated to  S.  Maria  de  Foro ;  the  elegant  little  church  was  found 
almost  intact  in  1880  in  the  northern  aisle  on  the  Vicus  Jugarius, 
with  its  double  row  of  columns,  apse,  presbyterium,  marble  tran- 
sennse,  fresco  paintings,  main  and  side  doors,  etc.  The  only  trace 
left  standing  by  accident  is  one  of  the  columns  of  the  presby- 
terium. The  remaining  portion  of  the  Basilica  had  been  taken 
possession  of  by  the  Koman  marmorarii  of  the  eleventh  century, 
who  prepared  there  the  materia  jn-ima  for  their  cosmatesque  clois- 
ters, ambones,  pavements,  etc.  They  had  provided  themselves 
with  booths  and  workshops  by  closing  with  mud  walls  the  spaces 
between  the  pilasters  of  the  western  aisles.  There  were  about 
twenty  such  shops.  The  great  nave  was  covered  with  a  layer  of 
chips  and  fragments  of  historical  marbles,  destined  to  feed  the 
lime-kilns,  two  of  which  were  discovered  full  of  half-charred  blocks. 
The  east  aisles  towards  the  Sacra  Via  were  foimd  unencumbered 
by  mediaeval  partition  w^alls,  and  we  know  the  reason  why.  They 
were  used  as  rope-walks,  from  which  the  place  derived  its  name 
of  Cannaparia.  The  upper  strata  of  rubbish  was  composed  inostly 
of  human  bones ;  because,  after  the  last  devastations  of  Cardi- 
nal di  Corneto,  the  site  had  been  turned  into  a  burial-ground  for 
the  Ospedale  della  Consolazione.  The  chain  of  historical  events 
which  made  the  building  pass  from  the  hand  of  the  Roman  magis- 


THE   ROMAN   FORUM  2-io 

tra+es  into  that  of  the  priests  of  S.  Maria  de  Foro,  and  then  of 
ropemakers,  of  luarniorarii,  of  lime-burners,  of  the  guardians 
of  the  Ospedale  delta  Consolazione,  was  thus  illustrated  by  actual 
remains.  They  have  all  been  sacrificed  to  the  desire  of  bringing 
into  evidence  one  period  only  in  the  history  of  the  building,  the 
classic.  Another  subject  of  discussion  about  this  place  was  the 
roof.  Was  the  Basilica  vaulted  over,  like  that  of  Constantine,  or 
roofed  with  tiles  supported  by  a  wooden  framework  ?  The  answer 
was  given  materially,  by  the  huge  blocks  of  the  vault  with  panels 
and  lacunaria  in  stucco,  which  lay  scattered  on  the  floor  of  the 
aisles.  They  were  destroyed  for  fear  that  they  would  obstruct  the 
view. 

The  Forum  has  had  the  same  experience.  The  southeast  side 
of  it,  facing  the  Temple  of  Caesar,  was  found  in  1872  closed  by  a 
line  of  shops  of  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  and  of  the 
utmost  importance  for  the  history  of  the  place.  They  were  mis- 
taken for  a  mediajval  fortification  (see  Bull.  Inst.,  1872,  pp.  234,  235) 
and  destroyed.  The  same  mistake  was  made  with  regard  to  the 
walls  winch  supported  tlae  platform  of  the  Rostra.  The  pedestal 
of  an  equestrian  statue  in  the  middle  of  tlie  Forum  —  wrongly 
attributed  to  Domitian  —  was  likewise  dismantled  for  the  sake  of 
some  blocks  of  giallo  antico  used  in  its  masonry.  If  such  errors 
were  committed  in  so  recent  an  age,  it  is  easy  to  understand  what 
must  have  happened  in  centuries  gone  by,  and  what  opportunities 
of  reconstructing  the  Forum  have  been  lost. 

The  accumulation  of  soil  began,  as  far  as  W'e  can  judge,  after  the 
visit  of  Charlemagne  (800).  When  an  officer  of  Pope  ]\Iarinus  II. 
built  in  916  a  small  house  within  the  cloisters  of  the  Vestals,  there 
were  already  five  feet  of  rubbish  above  the  old  pavement.  After 
tlie  fire  of  Robert  Guiscard  in  1081,  the  Forum  and  its  surround- 
ings disapi^eared  altogether  from  the  sight,  and  almost  from  the 
memory,  of  tlie  living.  The  Frangipani  and  other  turbulent  barons 
occupied  the  ruins  of  temples  and  arclies,  ci'owning  and  surround- 
ing them  with  battlemented  towers,  many  of  which  were  in  their 
turn  leveled  to  the  ground  in  1221, 1257,  and  1536.  See,  also,  upon 
this  point  — 

Ferdinand  rircgorovius,  Geschichte,  iv.  :J70:  v.  .31fi.  —  Heiurich  .Jordan, 
Topographie,  ii.  480;  and  Ephemeris  epigr.,  1876,  p.  2-38. 

The  Forum  was  then  turned  into  a  vegetable  garden.  In  the 
inventory  of  the  possessions  of  the  Lateran  basilica,  -viTitten  by 
Nicolo  Frangipani  about  1300,  we  find  mentioned :  "  Two  small 
houses  near  the  image  of  Phocas  (face  magina),  with  their  orchards ; 


244  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

two  orchards  near  the  arch  by  the  image  of  Phocas ;  others  near 
the  church  of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  ;  one  near  S.  Adriano,  where 
stand  the  four  columns,"  etc.  The  "  Res  gestae  "  of  Innocent  III. 
mention,  vol.  ii.  p.  102,  an  orchard  behind  the  church  of  SS.  Sergio 
e  Bacco,  and  another  "  among  the  columns  "  in  the  direction  of 
the  Mamertine  prison.  The  ground  was  still  cultivated  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  -century,  when  we  hear  of  the  inscription 
of  Nsevius  Surdinus  found  "  in  the  gardens  of  the  columna  Maenia," 
viz.,  of  Phocas ;  and  of  the  pedestal  (Corpus,  1458,  o)  found  "  in 
the  gardens  by  the  three  columns,"  viz.,  of  Castor  and  Pollux.  The 
area  of  the  House  of  the  Vestals  was  occupied  by  a  harundinetum, 
or  bamboo  shrubbery. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  earth  and  rubbish  fi-om  the  foundations 
of  public  and  private  buildings  were  regularly  thrown  into  the 
area  of  the  Porum,  from  the  time  of  Eugenius  IV.  (1431-47),  but 
no  documents  have  been  produced  to  prove  this.  I  have  found 
one  —  the  first  within  my  knowledge  —  in  the  account-books  of 
Pope  Paul  II.  (1464-71).  It  appears  from  them  that  the  earth 
and  rubbish  excavated  from  the  foundations  of  the  Palazzo  di 
Venezia  were  regularly  thrown  out  "  ad  tres  coluninas,"  viz.,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux.  Considering 
the  state  of  the  city  in  the  fifteenth  century,  the  want  of  police 
regulations,  and  the  freedom  of  building,  destroying,  and  exca- 
vating which  every  one  enjoyed,  it  is  no  wonder  that  rubbish  was 
thrown  out  in  the  nearest  convenient  place,  and  no  place  was  more 
convenient  than  the  hollow  of  the  Forum.  I  have  collected  many 
data  about  the  periodical  increase  of  its  level ;  but  two  instances 
will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  them.  It  appears  that,  after  the 
obstruction  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,^  the  only  outlet  for  rain  and 
spring  water  in  the  district  of  the  fora  was  a  channel  or  furrow 
cut  by  the  rushing  stream  through  the  bed  of  rubbish,  on  the  line 
of  the  Via  di  S.  Teodoro,  passing  right  in  front  of  this  church. 
Communication  between  the  banks  of  this  ditch  was  assured  by 
means  of  a  bridge,  called  il  ponticello.  Albertini  speaks  of  a  dis- 
covery made  about  1.510  ad  ponticulum,  between  S.  M.  Liberatrice 
and  S.  Teodoro.  Martin  Heemskerk  made  a  sketch  of  the  bridge 
in  15.34.2  -pi^g  if^gj;  mention  of  it  occurs  in  1549  (Corpus,  vi.  804) 
apropos  of  the  discovery  of  the  Vortumnus  prope  ponticulum  ante 

1  The  Forum  of  Augustus  could  not  have  been  turned  into  a  marsh  —  il 
Pantano  —  unless  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  which  runs  under  it  and  drains  it,  had 
ceased  its  functions. 

2  See  Mittheilungen,  1894,  p.  10,  n.  1. 


THE   ROMAN   FORUM  245 

mdificium  quadralum,  "  near  the  ponticello  in  front  of  the  Temple 
of  Augustus."  Bridge  and  ditch  had  disajjpeared  under  the  ever 
increasing  deposits  of  rubbish  in  1593,  when  Cardinal  Alessandro 
Farnese  made  a  present  of  the  ground  to  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  for  the 
erection  of  a  fountain  and  of  a  watering-trough  for  cattle.  We 
have  the  evidence  of  these  facts  to  the  present  day  in  the  church 
of  S.  Teodoro,  built  in  the  sixth  (?)  century  at  the  level  of  the 
Vicus  Tuscus ;  and  rebuilt  in  1450  by  Pope  Nicholas  Y.  ten  or 
twelve  feet  higher.  In  the  vignette  of  Martin  Heemskerk,  just 
mentioned,  the  threshold  of  the  church  appears  still  above  the 
street  (1534).  In  1674  it  was  considerably  below  it.  Finally, 
to  save  the  building  from  filtering  waters  and  from  the  pressure  of 
earth,  Pope  Clement  XI.  was  compelled  to  cut  a  ditch  round  and 
to  open  a  court  before  it,  to  which  we  now  descend  by  a  flight  of 
steps. 

Such  has  been  the  fate  of  all  ancient  churches  in  this  region. 
Built  originally  ten  or  twelve  steps  higher  than  the  Forum,  by  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  ceiitury  they  had  sunk  deep  in  the  ground, 
and  many  were  deserted  by  their  attendants.  The  third  vignette 
of  Etienne  Duperac  shows  people  descending  to  the  Chiu-ch  of  S. 
Adriano,  the  ground  being  almost  level  with  the  architrave  of  the 
door.  A  strong  remedy  alone  could  save  the  buildings  from  de- 
struction, and  that  of  raising  them  to  the  level  of  the  new  city  was 
decided  upon.  The  thing  was  done,  but  in  a  reckless  way,  so  that 
the  present  chiu'ches  have  nothing  but  their  name  in  common 
with  their  predecessors.  Those  who  know  what  the  word  "  restora- 
tion "  means  with  reference  to  the  seicento  will  understand  what 
those  venerable  buildings  must  have  gone  through  at  the  hands  of 
their  restorers. 

The  second  instance  I  propose  to  quote  is  this.  The  greatest 
centre  of  traffic  in  ancient  times  was  the  Argiletum,  a  thoroughfare 
which  ran  along  tiie  bottom  of  the  valley  between  the  Quirinal, 
Viminal,  and  Esquiline,  and  entered  the  Foi'um  between  the  Curia 
and  the  Basilica  ^Emilia.^  It  retained  its  importance  throughout 
the  centuries  until  Cardinal  Michele  Bonelli  cut  through  the  Curia 
the  street  which  bears  his  name  (Via  Bonella),  and  led  the  traffic 
into  a  new  thoroughfare,  better  leveled,  paved,  and  drained.  A 
search  made  in  1809  at  the  point  where  the  Ai-giletum  fell  into  the 
Comitium  showed  the  existence  of  four  pavements,  one  above  the 
other,  viz.,  the  stone  floor  of  the  Comitium  ;  another,  9  feet  higher, 

1  The  lower  section  of  the  Argiletum  was  transformed  bj'  Domitian  into  the 
Forum  Trausitorium. 


246  A     WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACHA    VIA 

dating  probably  from  tlie  time  of  llobert  Gui.scard  (1084)  ;  a  third, 
7  feet  higher  still,  with  medireval  walls  on  each  side  and  a  curb- 
stone at  the  corner  made  out  of  a  broken  column  ;  the  fourth  and 
last  pavement,  at  the  present  level,  dates  from  the  time  of  Paul 
III.,  who,  on  preparing  the  ground  for  the  triumphal  entry  of 
Charles  V.  (1536),  did  not  remove  the  materials  of  the  several 
churches,  houses,  and  towers  demolished  for  the  occasion,  but 
leveled  them  on  the  spot.  In  the  excavations  made  by  Mbby 
between  1827  and  1834  many  coins  of  Paul  III.  were  discovered 
at  a  considerable  deptli  on  the  line  of  the  Sacra  Via. 

I  have  mentioned  above  the  fountain  and  water-trough  estab- 
lished by  the  8.  P.  Q.  R.  about  1593,  near  the  three  columns  of 
Castor  and  Pollux,  on  a  piece  of  ground  granted  by  Cardinal  Ales- 
sandro  Farnese.  The  fountain  consisted  of  a  large  granite  basin, 
23  metres  in  circumference,  placed  on  a  high  pedestal  of  travertine. 
The  basin  had  been  discovered  oj^posite  the  Mamertine  prison, 
together  with  the  Marforio,  in  the  fifteenth  century.  AVhen  the 
architect  Antinori  suggested  to  Pius  VII.,  in  1816,  the  removal  of 
the  basin  to  the  Piazza  del  Quirinale  (where  it  was  actually  placed 
at  the  foot  of  the  obelisk  two  years  later),  the  basin  was  sunk  in 
the  earth,  so  that  carters  used  to  drive  their  teams  right  across  it, 
to  refresh  them  in  the  heat  of  the  summer.  I  have  myself  seen  a 
portion  of  tlie  area  of  the  Forum  increase  by  two  metres  at  least 
in  1868,  when  Baron  Visconti,  then  engaged  in  discovering  the 
site  of  the  Porta  Romanula,  deposited  the  earth  on  the  site  of  the 
House  of  the  Vestals,  instead  of  carting  it  away. 

As  regards  the  search  for  antiquities,  we  can  safely  say  that, 
from  the  time  of  Urban  V.  (1362-70)  to  the  end  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, every  year  is  marked  by  a  plunder  of  some  kind  or  other,  the 
worst  deeds  of  destruction  being  connected  witli  the  golden  age 
of  the  cinquecento.  The  history  of  these  excavations  has  not  been 
written  yet.  Materials  for  such  a  history,  however,  have  been 
collected  by  — 

Heinricli  Jordan,  SyUoge  inscripf.  fori  romani  (in  Ephem.  epigr.,  "1876,  pp. 
238-248).  —  Charles  Biinsen,  Le  forum  romanum,  1835,  pp.  4-6.  —  A.  Zahn, 
BuUeUino  Instituto,  1867,  p.  189.  — Eugene  Miintz,  Les  arts  a  la  cour  des 
Pnpes,  vols,  i.-iii.;  and  Revue  archcoL,  1876,  p.  158.  —  Orazio  Marucchi,  Bes- 
r.rizione  del  foro  romano.     Rome,  Befani,  1883. 

But  they  hardly  cover  one  tenth  of  the  ground.  Students  will  find 
a  complete  chronology  of  the  facts  in  the  "  Storia  degli  Scavi  di 
Roma,"  which  I  hope  soon  to  publish  as  a  companion  text  to  the 
"  Forma  Urbis." 


THE    ROMAN   FORUM  247 

The  oldest  official  record  dates  from  the  year  1364,  when  Urban 
V.  granted  the  materials  of  the  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina 
to  the  rebuilders  of  the  Lateran,  provided  they  would  not  touch 
the  chapel  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Mu-anda,  which  had  been  set  up  in  the 
portico.  As  an  account  of  excavations  is  appended  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  each  building,  I  need  not  enter  into  many  particulars.  In 
general,  however,  let  us  distinguish  three  periods.  In  the  first, 
from  Urban  V.  to  July  22,  1540,  the  popes  grant  to  building  con- 
tractors or  lime-burners  the  destruction  of  such  and  siich  a  monu- 
ment, one  third  of  the  profits  being  reserved  for  the  Apostolic 
Chamber.  Thus  in  1431-62  the  great  travertine  wall  separating 
the  Senate-house  from  the  Forum  of  Caesar  was  legally  destroyed 
by  jiermissiou  of  Eugenius  lY.  and  of  his  successors ;  in  1461-62 
the  same  fate  befell  the  Tempi uni  Sacrfp  Urbis  or  Record  Otfice ; 
in  14.50  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome ;  in  1499  the  House  of  the 
Vestals,  etc.  If  the  government  treated  the  antique  remains  in 
this  fashion  they  could  certainly  not  expect  mere}'  from  private 
hands.  In  reading  the  contracts  signed  between  the  owners  of 
ruins  and  their  excavators,  one  is  reminded  of  the  expression  of 
PiiTO  Ligorio,  that  "  ruins  were  sold  like  oxen  for  the  meat-mar- 
ket." What  I  may  call  "  excavation  fever  "  had  seized  every  class 
of  citizens,  from  the  cardinals  and  noblemen,  who  wanted  to  link 
their  name  to  a  museum  or  a  villa,  to  the  poor  w'idow,  who  sought 
to  relieve  her  miseries  by  some  unexpected  find.  Excavations 
may  be  called  the  ''  lotto  "  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Sentence  of  death  on  the  monuments  of  the  Forum  and  of  the 
Sacra  A"ia  was  passed  on  July  22,  1540.  By  a  brief  of  Paul  III. 
(Farnese)  '  the  privilege  of  excavating  or  giving  permission  to  ex- 
cavate is  taken  away  from  the  Capitoline  or  Apostolic  chambers, 
from  the  "magistrates  of  streets,"  from  ecclesiastical  dignitaries, 
etc.,  and  given  exclusively  to  the  "  deputies  "  for  the  Fabbrica  di 
S.  Pietro.  The  pope  gives  them  full  liberty  to  search  for  ancient 
marbles  wherever  they  please  within  and  outside  the  walls,  to 
remove  them  from  antique  buildings,  to  pull  these  buildings  to 
pieces  if  necessary;  he  orders  that  no  marbles  can  be  sold  by 
private  owners  without  the  consent  of  the  Fabbrica,  under  the 
penalty  of  excommunication  lakf  sententice,  of  the  wTath  of  the 
pope,  and  of  a  fine  of  1000  ducats.  No  pen  can  describe  the 
ravages  committed  by  the  Fabbrica  in  the  course  of  the  last  sixty 

1  Published  by  Miintz,  Revue  nrcheol.,  mai,  1884,  from  the  original  of  the 
Vatican  archives.  The  importance  of  the  docmnent  has  not  yet  been  fully 
appreciated  by  archaeologists. 


248  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  excesses  roused  the  execra- 
tion of  the  citizens,  but  to  no  purpose ;  on  May  17,  1580,  the  con- 
servatori  made  an  indignant  protest  to  the  town  council,  when  a 
portion  of  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars  had  fallen,  in  consequence  of 
its  having  been  undermined  by  the  searchers  for  marble.  A  depu- 
tation was  sent  to  Gregory  XIII.  to  ask  for  the  revocation  of  all 
licenses  ("  ad  perquu*endos  lapides  etiam  pro  usu  fabricse  Principis 
apostolorum").  We  may  imagine  what  answer  was  given  to  the 
protests  of  the  city  when  we  learn  that  by  a  brief  of  Clement 
VIII.,  dated  July  23,  1598,  the  archaeological  jurisdiction  of  the 
Fabbrica  was  extended  over  tlie  remains  of  Ostia  and  Porto ! 
The  Forum  Romanum  was  swept  by  a  band  of  devastators  from 
1540  to  1549 ;  they  began  by  removing  the  marble  steps  and  the 
marble  coating  of  Faixstina's  Temple  (1540),  then  they  attacked 
what  was  left  standing  of  the  Arch  of  Fabius  (1540).  Between 
1546  and  1547  the  Temple  of  Julius  C»sar,  the  Regia,  with  the 
Fasti  Consulares  et  Triumphales,  fell  under  their  hammer.  The 
steps  and  foundations  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  were 
next  burnt  into  lime  or  given  up  to  the  stone-cutters,  together 
with  the  Arch  of  Augustus.  The  Temple  of  Vesta,  the  Augus- 
taeum,  and  the  shrine  of  Vortumnus,  at  the  corner  of  the  Vicus 
Tuscus,  met  with  the  same  fate  in  1549. 

The  chronology  of  subsequent  excavations  is  given  by  Charles 
Bunsen,  "Le  forum  ronumum  explique  selon  I'etat  des  fouilles," 
Rome,  avril  21,  1835,  p.  4 ;  Antonio  Nibby,  •'  Roma  antica,"  vol. 
ii.  p.  178 ;  Pleinrich  Jordan,  "  Topographie,"  vol.  i^,  p.  154,  n.  1 ; 
and  "  Sylloge  inscript.  fori  Romani  "  (in  Ephem.  epigr.,  1876,  p. 
244)  ;  Orazio  Marucchi,  "  Descrizione  del  foro  romano,"  Rome, 
Befani,  1883,  ch.  ii.  p.  9 ;  but  their  accounts  are  only  summary 
sketches.  A  great  many  unknown  documents  will  be  published 
in  volumes  iii.  and  iv.  of  "  Storia  degli  Scavi  di  Roma,"  the  pub- 
lication of  which  has  been  announced  above. 

Froln  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  downwards  the  more 
noticeable  events  are,  first  of  all,  the  raising  of  christianized  pagan 
edifices  to  the  level  of  the  modern  city,  by  which  they  suffered 
great  damage.  Urban  VIII.  is  responsible  for  the  modernization 
of  the  Heroon  Romuli,  of  the  Templum  Sacrae  Urbis  (SS.  Cosma 
e  Damiano),  of  the  Secretarium  Senatus  (S.  Martina),  and  of 
the  Senate-house  (S.  Adriano)  ;  Paul  V.  and  the  architect  Carlo 
Lombardo  for  that  of  S.  Maria  Nova  in  1615;  the  corporation 
of  apothecaries  and  their  architect  Torriani  for  that  of  S.  Lorenzo 
in  Miranda  (Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina)  in  1602 ;  Cardi- 


THE    ROMAN    FORUM  249 

nal  Marcello  Laute  and  his  architect  Onorio  Longhi  for  that  of 
S.  Maria  Antiqua  (S.  M.  Liberatrice)  in  1617 ;  the  trustees  of  the 
Ospedale  della  Consohizioiie  for  that  of  S.  Maria  in  Cannapara 
(S.  M.  delle  Grazie)  in  1609. 

Under  Alexander  VII.  (1655-67)  Leonardo  Agostini  excavated 
and  destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  Portions  Margaritaria.  In 
1742  a  trencli  ten  metres  deep  was  cut  across  the  Forum  to  put 
in  order  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  which  had  become  choked.  The 
Chevalier  Fredenheim  excavated  the  Basilica  Julia  between  No- 
vember, 1788,  and  March,  1789. 

The  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  marks  also  the  end  of  the 
era  of  destruction  in  the  valley  of  the  Forum.  Pius  VII.,  whose 
memory  is  dear  to  all  lovers  of  art  and  antiquities,  seconded  by 
Carlo  Fea,  his  "commissario  per  le  antichita,"  determined  that 
the  historical  monuments  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Coliseum  should 
be  laid  bare  and  their  foundations  strengthened  if  necessary.  His 
work,  interrupted  by  the  French  invasion  of  1809,  was  continued 
by  Comte  Toiu'uon,  the  prefet  of  the  Departement  du  Tibre. 
Leo  XII.  began  in  1827,  and  Gregory  XVI.  completed  in  18.35, 
another  section  of  excavations  from  the  Basilica  Julia  to  the 
Clivus  Capitolinus.  The  Republicans  of  1848—49  extended  the 
belt  of  discoveries  along  the  north  side  of  the  Basilica  Julia,  and 
Pius  IX.  completed  their  work  between  1851  and  1852. 

The  Italian  government  undertook  the  general  excavation  of 
the  ground  crossed  by  the  Sacra  Via  from  one  end  to  the  other  a 
few  weeks  after  Rome  was  made  the  capital  of  the  united  king- 
dom. Thirteen  years'  untii-ing  labor  and  a  sum  of  2,000,000  lire 
were  required  to  accomplish  the  task.  The  progress  of  the  works 
can  be  followed  by  referring  to  the  dates  appended  :  — 

1870.  December;  1871,  November.  —  Basilica  Julia. 

1871.  —  Streets  adjoining  the  Temple  of  Castores,  steps  of  temple,  monumen- 

tal columns  on  the  south  side  of  the  Forum,  Cloaca  Maxima. 

1872.  —  Space  between  temples  of  Castores  and  of  Divus  Julius,  Rostra  Julia, 

shops  on  the  east  side  of  the  Forum  (destroyed  in  1874). 

1873.  —  Area  of  the  Forum,  sculptured  plutei,  pedestal  of  Caballus  Constan- 

tini.  Temple  of  Vesta. 

1874.  —  The  neighborhood  of  Temple  of  Julius,  site  of  Regia. 
187f>. —  Steps  of  Temple  of  Antoninus,  and  neighborhood. 

1877-1879.  —  The  Clivus  Sacer  from  the  Heroon  Romuli  to  the  Arch  of  Titus, 
Basilica  Xova,  Arco  di  Latrone,  front  of  Porticus  Margaritaria,  etc. 

1882.  —  The  Sacra  Via  by  the  Arch  of  Fabius,  Arch  of  Fabius,  shops  of  the 
House  of  Vestals,  shrine  of  the  Vicus  Vestae. 

1883-1884.  —  House  of  Vestals,  Nova  Via. 


250  A     WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

We  shall  first  study  the  area  of  the  Forum,  and  the  various 
monuments  which  it  contains ;  then  the  edifices  on  the  north  side 
(Senate-house,  Temple  of  Janus,  Basilica  iEmilia) ;  those  of  the 
east  side  (Temple  of  Julius  Cfesar,  Ai-ch  of  Augustus,  Temple  of 
Castores) ;  those  of  the  south  side  (Basilica  Julia  between  the 
Vicus  Tuscus  and  the  Vicus  Jugarius) ;  and  lastly,  those  of  the 
west  side  (Temple  of  Saturn,  Rostra,  Arch  of  Severus,  Tullianum) 
and  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  (Tenrple  of  Concord  and  of  Ves- 
pasian, Porticus  Deorum  Consentium,  Tabularium,  Capitolium, 
Arx). 

The  bibliography  of  the  Forum  is  particularly  rich.  There  is 
no  book  connected  with  Roman  archaeology  without  a  reference  to 
it.  The  works  must  be  divided  into  three  classes  :  (a)  accounts  of 
discoveries  of  single  buildings,  sculptixre,  inscriptions,  etc.,  with 
no  attempt  at  a  general  reconstruction  of  the  Forum  ;  (b)  attempts 
at  a  general  i-econstruction  of  the  Forum  before  the  final  excava- 
tions of  1870-84 ;  (c)  works  published  after  the  excavations  of 
1870-84. 

In  the  first  class  we  find  a  precious  source  of  information.  The 
series  begins  with  an  "  Expose  d'une  decouverte  de  m.  le  chev. 
Fredenheim  faite  au  Forum  romanum  en  Janvier,  1779,"  published 
by  Oberlin  at  Strassbourg  in  1706,  and  ends  with  Pietro  Pericoli's 
"  Storia  delF  Ospedale  della  Consolazione  di  Roma,"  1879,  where 
the  histoiy  of  the  destruction  of  the  Basilica  Julia  is  I'elated  from 
unedited  documents.  Works  of  this  class  will  be  quoted  in  con- 
nection with  the  single  discoveries  or  monuments  which  they  throw 
light  upon. 

The  second  class  has  lost  much  of  its  importance,  its  elements 
being  necessarily  rather  speculative  than  founded  on  fact ;  yet 
students  will  find  in  works  of  this  kind  wonderful  erudition,  and 
copious  references  to  classic  texts.     Consult,  among  others  — 

Antonio  Nibby,  Bel  foro  roviano,  della  via  sacra,  etc.,  Rome,  1819;  and 
Roma  nelV  anno  1838,  part  i.  vol.  ii.  p.  277.  —  Stefano  Piale,  Del  foro  romano, 
ma  posizione  e  f/randezza,  Rome,  1818  (18.32);  Delia  basilica  Giulia,  1824  (1833); 
Dei  tempi  di  Giano,  etc.,  1819  (1833).  — Auguste  Caristie,  Plan  et  coupe  d'une 
partie  du  forum  remain.  Paris,  1829,  fol.  —  Luigi  Canina,  Descrizione  storica 
del  foro  romano  e  sue  adiacenze.  Rome,  1834.  —  Charles  Bunsen,  Les  forums 
de  Rome  restaures  et  eapliques.  Rome,  1837;  and  Beschreihung  d.  St.  Rom, 
vol.  iii.  B.  —  Ravioli  and  Montiroli,  Ilforo  romano.  Rome,  1852.  —  Emil  Braiin, 
Das  Forum  (in  Philologus,  suppl.  ii.,  1862,  p.  381,  6-^.).  —  Etfisio  Tocco,  Ripri- 
stinazione  del  foro  romano.     Rome,  1858. 

The  excavations  of  1870-84  have  called  forth  a  number  of 
works.     Leaving  aside  those  that  refer  to  single  discoveries  or  to 


AREA    OF   THE   FORUM 


251 


single  monuments,  mention  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  proper 
place,  the  few  of  a  general  character  are  — 

Heinrich  Jordan,  Capitol,  Forum,  und  Sacra  Via,  Berlin,  Weidmann,  1881 ; 
Die  uberreste  des  Forum  (in  Topographie,  vol.  i'-^,  p.  154) ;  and  Sylloge  inscript. 
fori  romani  (in  Ephem.  epigraph.,  vol.  iii.,  1876,  p.  237).  —  Edoardo  Brizio, 
Relazione  .  .  .  stille  scoperte  archeolor/iche  dtlln  citta  .  .  .  di  Roma,  1873. — 
Ferdinand  Dutert,  Le  forum  romnin  tt  les  forums  dt  Jules  Cesar,  etc.  Paris, 
1876.  —  John  H.  Parker,  The  Roman  Forum  (in  Archseology  of  Rome,  vol.  ii. 
1876).  —  Francis  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum.  London,  1877.  —  Orazio 
Marucchi,  Descrizione  delforo  romano  e  guida  per  la  risita  dei  suoi  monumenti. 
Rome,  1883.  French  edition.  —  John  H.  Middleton,  The  Forum  Romanum, 
and  its  Adjacent  Biiildinys  (in  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  i.  chap.  vi.  p. 
231).    London,  1892.  —  Levy  and  Luckenbach,  Forum  romanum.    Munich,  1895. 


tm  mm 


«*-,•-©-■&-*_♦     6 


•     ©llilLilMimsiiCli^  BASILICA.     IVLIA 


Fig.  93.  — Map  of  Forum  and  of  Basilica  Julia, 


XXII.  Area  of  the  Forum. —  The  Forum  is  not  rectangular, 
as  prescribed  by  A'itruvius  (v.  1),  but  in  the  form  of  a  trapezoid. 
Before  the  construction  of  the  Temple  of  Csesar,  on  the  site  where 
his  body  had  been  cremated,  it  was  160  metres  long.     After  the 


252  A    WALK    THROVGII   THE   SACRA    VIA 

temi^le  was  built,  its  area  was  severed  from  that  of  the  Forum,  and 
the  Sacra  Via  made  to  pass  between  them ;  by  which  measure  the 
Forum  was  reduced  to  a  length  of  102  metres.  The  breadth  varies 
from  a  maximum  of  45  metres  on  the  west  side  to  a  minimum  of 
36  metres  at  the  east  end.^  It  is  surrounded  by  streets  on  three 
sides  :  by  the  Street  ad  Janum  on  the  north,  by  the  Sacra  Via  on 
the  east  and  south,  while  the  Area  Concordise  and  the  winding 
Clivus  Capitolinus  constitute  its  western  boundary  line. 

The  Sacra  Via  has  been  already  described  in  the  opening  section 
of  this  Book.  The  Street  ad  Janum  took  its  name  from  the  temple 
of  that  god  which  stood  at  the  entrance  to  the  Via  Argiletana, 
between  the  Senate-house  and  the  Basilica  Fulvia-^milia.  It  ex- 
tended from  the  Comitium  to  the  Temple  of  Antoninus,  limiting 
the  area  of  the  Forum  on  the  north  side.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  seventh  century  of  Rome  it  became  the  rendezvous  of  brokers, 
money-changers,  bankers,  and  usurers,  who  could  find  shelter  from 
rain  or  sun  under  the  porticoes  of  the  basilica.  Cicero  and  Horace 
describe  the  centre  of  the  street  —  ad  Janum  medium  —  as  the 
Bourse  or  Exchange  of  ancient  Rome.  Modern  writers,  forgetting 
that  the  adjectives  "  summus,  medius,  imus,"  applied  to  a  slightly 
inclined  road,  mean  its  highest,  middle,  and  lowest  point,  have 
imagined  the  existence  on  this  road  of  three  "jani"  or  four-faced 
archways,  and  have  even  produced  drawings  of  them.  Bentley  on 
Horace  (Epist.,  i.  1,  54)  is  the  first  to  have  found  and  suggested 
the  true  meaning  of  those  adjectives. 

Literature.  —  F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  240. —  H.  Jordan, 
Una  rettijicazione  alia  jnanta  del  for o  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1881,  p.  10.3).  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciana,  La  cloaca  maxima  (in  Bull,  com.,  1890,  p.  98). 

The  Forum  is  paved  negligently  with  slabs  of  travertine  wliich 
must  date  from  the  time  of  Diocletian,  who  repaired  the  ravages 
of  the  fire  of  Carinus.  The  pavement  was  edged  with  a  raised 
border  also  of  travertine,  which,  being  only  0.72  metre  wide,  cannot 
be  called  sidewalk,  semita,  but  simplv  margo.  or  border.  Its  most 
noticeable  feature  consists  of  a  series  of  square  holes,  which  line 
the  edge  (letter  A)  and  look  like  the  sockets  in  front  of  our  palaces 
and  public  buildings  which  held  the  fiaccole  on  the  occasion  of 
festivities.  Such  holes  are  also  to  be  found  at  Pompeii  in  the  street 
which  runs  along  the  so-called  "  Scuola  al  foro."  Schoene  thinks 
they  may  have  served  to  hold  a  wooden  fence,  to  direct  and  contain 

1  According  to  Varro  the  Forum  originally  measured  septem  jugera'= 
17,539.20  square  metres  ;  its  actual  surface  does  not  exceed  41.31  square 
metres. 


AEEA    OF   THE   FORUM 


253 


the  crowd  in  election  days  ;  but  such  cannot  have  been  their  pur- 
pose in  Rome,  because  they  are  to  be  found  also  in  front  of  the 
temples  of  -Julius  Cfesar  and  of  Castor  and  Pollux.     It  is  more 

Raised  border  (margo) 


Pauement  of 
-045 V    Sacra   Via 


Fig.  94.  —  The  Margo  of  the  Forum. 

probable  that  the  poles  around  our  Forum  and  its  neighboring 
temples  were  used  to  support  awnings  during  the  summer  months. 
The  situation  of  the  Forum  is  such  that,  while  it  is  exposed  to  the 
full  violence  of  the  rays  of  the  sun,  the  Capitoline  and  the  Quirinal 
shelter  it  from  the  north,  and  shut  off  refreshing  breezes.  In 
summer  the  temperature  is  often  above  100°  in  the  shade.  To 
save  the  citizens  from  sunstroke,  and  to  make  it  possible  for  judges 
and  advocates  to  discuss  their  cases,  and  for  orators  to  address 
their  audience,  the  velaria  were  brought  into  use  towards  the  end 
of  the  Republican  period.  The  merit  of  the  invention  seems  to 
belong  to  Julius  Cjesar,  who  "totum  forum  romanum  intexit, 
viamque  sacram."  INIarcellus,  the  nephew  of  Augu.stus,  while  aedile 
in  23  B.  c,  "  veils  forum  inumbravit,  ut  salubrius  litigantes  con- 
sisterent."  ^  The  same  thing  occurred  in  a.  d.  39,  as  related  by 
Dion  Cassius  (lix.  23).  At  all  events,  we  must  not  picture  the 
Forum  to  ourselves  as  being  always  a  grave  and  solemn  place,  only 
fit  for  legal  discussions,  for  criminal  prosecutions,  popular  indigna- 
tion meetings,  and  so  forth.  The  Forum  could  be  also  a  gay  and 
festive  place.  Religieus  ceremonies  and  pageants  occasionallj^  took 
place  in  it ;  sacrifices  were  offered  on  temporary  altars ;  statues  of 
gods  moved  round  in  processions  among  the  smoke  of  incense  and 
the  singing  of  hymns ;  military  reviews,  hunting-scenes,  gladiatorial 
fights,  and  games  of  every  description  were  scenes  in  the  drama  of 
this  great  stage.  Thousands  of  citizens  would  sometimes  sit  down 
in  it  at  political  or  funeral  banquets.  Works  of  art  and  curiosities 
were  also  exhibited  in  the  Forum.  L.  Hostilius  Mancinus,  for 
instance,  the  first  Roman  who  entered  Carthage,  had  a  grand 
panorama  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  the  Punic  capital  set  up  here, 
while  he  would  describe  viva  voce  to  the  crowd  the  details  of  the 
1  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  xv.  20  ;  xix.  6. 


254  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

assault.  Famous  pictures  and  bronze  or  marble  statues  brought 
over  from  Greece  were  also  shown  to  the  multitudes  ;  and  such 
wonders  of  nature  as  the  serpent  fifty  cubits  long,  described 
by  Suetonius  (Aug.,  43).  On  the  occasion  of  triumphs  or  proces- 
sions, private  citizens  would  lend  their  ai'tistic  treasures  and  dra- 
peries and  carj)ets  for  the  decoration  of  the  Sacra  Via.  At  night 
the  Forum  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 

Literature.  —  Th(5denat,  in  Daremberg  and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1280. 
—  F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  pp.  85-93. 

The  area  of  the  Forum  was  encumbered  with  monuments  of 
various  kinds.  Leaving  aside  those  of  early  Republican  times, 
which  disappeared  under  the  Empire  (the  columna  Mcenia,  the  pila 
Horcitla,  the  Venun  Claarina,  etc.),  I  shall  only  mention  the  few 
the  remains  of  which  have  been  or  can  still  be  traced  in  our  days. 

XXIII.  Columna  Rostrata,  or  Columna  Duilia,  a  marble  pillar 
ornamented  with  beaks  of  war-ships,  erected  in  memory  of  the 
naval  victory  gained  by  C.  Duilius  over  the  Carthaginians  in  260 
B.  c.  A  fragment  of  its  inscription  was  discovered  in  July,  1565, 
between  the  Arch  of  Severus  and  the  Column  of  Phocas,  and  re- 
moved to  the  vestibule  of  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservator!,  where  it  is 
to  be  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  under  a  more  or  less  fanciful 
model  of  the  column.  The  inscription,  although  dating  from  the 
time  of  Claudius,  is  not  a  copy  of  the  original  one.  It  is  prolix, 
slightly  incorrect,  and  seems  to  have  been  made  up  by  a  gram- 
marian from  passages  of  early  annalists.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol. 
i.  pp.  37-40.) 

XXIV.  The  Sculptured  Plutei.  —  Between  the  Column  of 
Phocas  and  the  Street  of  Janus,  one  of  the  most  interesting  monu- 
ments was  brought  to  light  in  September,  1872.  It  consists  of  two 
screens  or  plutei  of  white  marble,  with  bas-reliefs  on  either  side, 
surmounted  with  a  richly  carved  cornice.  Each  screen,  composed 
of  several  pieces  of  marble  (a  few  missing),  stands  on  a  foundation 
of  travertine,  and  a  plinth  of  marble,  which  is  a  modern  and  doubt- 
ful addition.  The  exact  state  in  which  the  bas-reliefs  were  found 
in  September,  1872,  is  shown  in  the  following  cut  (Fig.  95).  The 
inside  panels  represent  the  three  animals  sacrificed  in  the  great 
lustral  ceremony  of  the  suoi^etaurilia  —  the  sow,  the  ram,  and  the 
bull  —  all  adorned  with  ribbons,  and  all  moving  in  the  direction  of 
the  Basilica  Julia.     The  outer  reliefs  represent  historical  scenes, 


THE   SCULPTURED   PLUTEI 


255 


with  a  view  of  the  Forum  itself  on  the  background.     Their  mean- 
ing has  given  rise  to  much  controversy.     Consult  — 

Wilhelm  Henzen,  Rilievi  cU  inarmo  scoptrti  nel  J",  r.  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1872, 
p.  273).  — Edoardo  Brizio,  in  Annal.  Inst.,  1872,  p.  309,  pi.  47.  —  Camillo 
Ravioli,  II  soggetto  esposto  nei  bassorilievi  del  J",  r.  (in  Corrispondenza  scien- 
tilica,  1872,  anno  25,  n.  14,  15). —  C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  Beux  actesde  Domitien 
en  qualite  de  censeur,  etc.  Rome,  1873.  —  F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum, 
pp.  60-68.  —  .1.  H.  Parker,  The  Forum  (in  Archeology  of  Rome,  vol.  ii.  pi. 
13).  —  Orazio  Marucchi,  Importanza  topografica  del  bassorilieiil  delf.r.  (in  Gli 
studi  in  Italia,  1880,  i.  p.  678);  and  Bull.  Inst.,  1881,  pp.  11,  33.  —  Heinrieh 
Jordan,  Topographie,  i^,  p.  220.  —  Luigi  Cantarelli,  Osservazioni  sitlla  scene  net 
bassorilievi  del/,  r.  (in  Bull,  com.,  1889,  p.  99). 

It  seems  almost  certain  that  the  scene  facing  the  Capitol 
alludes  to  the  provision  made  by  Trajan  for  the  education  and 
maintenance  of  children  of  poor  or  deceased  citizens  ("  pueri  et 
puellse  alimentarii ").  The  J^niperor  is  seated  on  a  suggestum 
addressing  a  female  figure,  a  personification  of  Italy,  who  carries 
an  infant  on  the  left  arm,  while  another  child  probably  stood  on 
her  right.     On  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  picture  the  Empei-or 


Fig.  95.  — The  Fragments  of  the  Marble  Plutei,  discovered  in  September,  1872. 

is  represented  addressing  the  crowd  from  the  Rostra.  The  second 
bas-relief,  facing  the  south,  represents  the  burning  of  the  registers 
in  which  the  sums  due  to  the  Fiscus  by  negligent  tax-payers  -were 
recorded.     This  act  of  generosity  of  Trajan  is  praised  by  Ausonius. 


256 


A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 


The  importance,  however,  of  these  panels  rests  in  the  view  of  the 
background,  which  represents  the  scene  that  was  in  reality  before 
the  spectator,  the  Forum  and  its  surroundings. 

The  view  begins  on  the  left  with  the  Rostra  Julia,  from  which 
the  Emperor  is  addressing  the  crowd ;  behind  him  we  see  (a)  the 
Arch  of  Augustus,  (h)  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  (c)  the 


THE   SCULPTURED   P LUTE I 


257 


opening  of  the  Viciis  Tuscus,  {<!)  the  Basilica  Julia.  The  design 
of  the  latter  is  continued  on  the  second  bas-relief  facing  the  Capi- 
tol. Next  comes  (e)  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  (y')  a  fragment  of  tlie 
Tabularium  (?),  {g)  the  Temple  of  Vespasian,  (Ji)  the  Rostra 
Vetera,  represented  in  a  conventional  form.  The  statue  of  Mar- 
syas  and  the  Ficus  Ruminalis,  which  appear  in  both  panels,  sym- 
bolize the  Forum  and  the  Comitium.  (See  Jordan's  Marsyas  auf 
den  Forum.     Berlin,  1883.) 

Opinions  differ  very  much  as  to  what  purpose  —  beyond  a  com- 
memorative object  —  these  two  screens  served.     Nichols  suggests 


Fig.  97.  —The  Rostra  as  represented  in  a  Bas-relief  of  the  Arch  of  Constantine. 

that  they  "formed  a  sort  of  an  avenue  leading  to  an  altar  and 
statue  of  the  Emjieror,  in  whose  honor  the  monument  may  have 
been  erected  after  his  deification."  Middleton  supposes  "  that  they 
formed  a  sort  of  gangway  through  which  voters  had  to  pass  to 
reach  the  ballot-boxes  on  the  Comitium,  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
onward  movement  of  the  crowd  of  citizens  in  an  orderly  stream." 
Tt  is  almost  certain,  however,  that  the  plutei  are  not  in  their 
original  place ;  so  that  all  speculation  about  their  scope  is  useless. 
They  must  have  been  placed  on  their  rough  travertine  socles  by 
Diocletian  in  his  restoration  of  the  Forum  after  the  fire  of  Carinus. 


258  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

Thedenat  seems  to  attribute  them  to  the  Rostra  Vetera  (Diction- 
naire,  p.  1305). 

XXV.  Monumental  Columns  on  the  Sacra  Via.  —  Near 
and  along  the  margo  which  limits  the  j)avement  of  the  Forum 
on  the  south  side  stand  eight  square  pedestals  of  monumental 
columns,  the  shafts  of  which,  varying  in  size  and  quality,  are  lying 
close  by.  The  first  column  near  the  southeast  corner  was  covered 
with  ornaments  of  gilt  bronze,  as  shown  by  the  holes  of  the  clamps 
to  which  they  were  riveted.  Other  shafts  are  of  gray  or  red  gran- 
ite, and  one  is  of  white  marble.  Professor  Jordan  has  been  able  to 
date  the  erection  of  these  pillars  by  means  of  brick-stamps  which 
can  still  be  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  fii'st  and  third  pedestals : 
they  belong  to  the  age  of  Constantine.  Five  pillars  of  this  kind 
are  represented  in  a  bas-relief  of  the  triumj)hal  arch  of  that  Em- 
peror, the  background  of  which  is  almost  as  interesting  for  the 
topography  of  the  Forum  as  that  of  the  plutei  described  abo\'e. 
The  first  building  on  the  left  is  the  Basilica  Julia ;  the  second  is 
the  Arch  of  Tiberius  (?) ;  then  come  five  monumental  columns, 
supporting  statues,  and  last  of  all  the  Arch  of  Severus.  The 
Emperor  is  delivering  a  speech  from  the  Rostra  Vetera.  If  these 
columns  were  raised  on  their  pedestals  the  picturesqueness  and 
interest  of  the  Forum  would  be  greatly  enhanced. 

Literature.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Varietadi  Notizie,  p.  71.  —  Francesco  Ficoroni, 
Memorie,  n.  80.  —  Heiurich  .lordau,  Bull.  Inst.,  1881,  p.  lOG;  Ann.  Inst.,  1883, 
p.  49;  and  Ephemeris  ejjigraphica,  p.  259.  —  Otto  Richter,  Die  romische  Red- 
nerbiihnt  (in  .Jahrbueh,  1889,  pp.  8-14). 

XXVI.  The  Caballus  Constantini  (Equestrian  Statue  of 
Constantine).  —  In  1873  an  official  announcement  was  given  to 
the  archaeological  world  of  the  discovery  of  the  "pedestal  of 
Domitian's  equestrian  statue  "  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum.  (See 
Pietro  Rosa,  Relazione,  p.  71.)  They  did  not  hesitate  to  identify 
as  a  famous  work  of  art  of  the  golden  age  a  rough  and  ugly  bit  of 
masonry,  resting,  without  foundations,  on  the  travertine  pavement 
of  the  time  of  Diocletian ;  they  did  not  recollect  that  the  eques- 
trian statue  cannot  have  survived  the  "  memorise  damnatio "  of 
Domitian ;  that  it  must  have  perished  the  very  day  of  his  death  ; 
and  that,  if  it  had  not  been  described  accidentally  by  a  contem- 
porary poet  (Statins,  Silv.,  1).  no  one  would  ever  have  had  a  sus- 
picion of  its  existence.  The  pedestal  belongs  very  likely  to  the 
Caballus  Constantini,  mention  of  which  occui's  in  documents  of 
the   seventh    and   eightli    centuries.     The    equestrian    group   was 


MONUMENTS    OF    THE    GOTHIC    WARS  259 

raised  in  334,  and  its  commemorative  inscription  is  given  by  the 
"  Corpus,"  vol.  vi.  n.  1141. 

Beferences.  —  Carlo  Fea,  in  Winckelmann's  Htoriii  dcW  arte,  vol.  iii.  p. 
410.  —  Charles  Bunsen,  Forum,  \).  15.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Ephe7n.  epiyr.,  vol. 
lii.  p.  256.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Inscript.  christ.,  vol.  ii.  5.  —  Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciaui,  Itinerar.  Einsiedltn,  p.  20. 

XXVII.  Unknown  Building  on  the  east  side,  opposite  the 
Temple  of  Julius.  —  Three  buildings  of  the  late  J]mpire,  not  later 
at  all  events  than  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  were  raslily  de- 
stroyed in  1872-74,  under  the  pretext  that  they  did  not  belong  to 
the  classic  age.  Jordan  has  described  them  carefully,  p.  252  of 
vol.  iii.  of  the  "  Ephemeris  epigraphica,"  and  considers  their  dis- 
appearance as  a  "  maximum  detrimentum  "  to  the  study  of  the 
P"'orum.  The  first  stood  near  the  marble  plutei,  the  second  near 
the  Column  of  Phocas,  the  third  extended  over  the  whole  east  side 
of  the  Forum,  from  the  Vicus  Tuscus  to  the  Street  ad  Janum,  and 
consisted  of  five  large  rooms,  handsomely  decorated  with  marble 
cornices,  pieces  of  which  are  still  left  in  situ.  Rather  than  shops 
I  would  consider  them  used  for  a  public  office  like  that  of  the 
"scribfe  sedilium  curulium  "  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  Forum. 
An  inscription  discovered  here  on  May  13,  1872,  engraved  on  an 
architrave  3.44  metres  long,  relates  how  Lucius  Valerius  Septi- 
mius  Bassus,  pi'efect  of  the  city  between  379  and  383,  had  dedi- 
cated the  structure  to  which  the  architrave  belongs,  in  honor  of 
Gratianus,  Valentinian,  and  Theodosius.  Perhaps  this  is  the  date 
of  the  building  destroyed  by  Rosa. 

XXVIII.  Monuments  of  the  Gothic  and  Gildonic  Wars. 

—  On  the  Street  ad  Janum,  opposite  the  Senate-house,  stands  an 
historical  monument,  relating  to  the  Gothic  wars  of  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  century.  The  inscription,  fifteen  lines  long,  praises 
the  fidelity  and  valor  shown  by  the  army  of  Arcadius,  Ilonorius, 
and  Theodosius,  in  the  mighty  struggle  which  ended  with  the 
defeat  of  Radagaisus  in  405.  The  victory  is  attributed  to  Stilicho, 
the  Roman  leader  :  "  confectum  gothicum  bellum  .  .  .  consiliis 
et  fortitudine  magistri  utriusque  militife  Flavii  Stilichonis."  The 
memorial  set  up  by  decree  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  under  the  care  of 
Pisidius  Romulus,  prefect  of  the  city  in  405,  is  the  meanest  and 
poorest  in  the  whole  Forum,  and  shows  how  low  Roman  pride, 
taste,  and  finance  had  fallen  in  those  days.  It  is  made  of  two 
blocks  —  one  of  travei'tine,  which   forms   the   base,  and   one   of 


260  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

marble  above  it.  This  last  had  been  already  used  as  a  pedestal  to 
an  equestrian  statue  of  bronze ;  the  statue  was  knocked  off,  the 
pedestal  set  negligently  upright  on  one  of  the  ends,  its  cracks  re- 
adjusted with  iron  clamps,  and  the  new  inscription  written  across 
the  old  one  after  the  latter  had  been  obliterated  with  care. 

The  details  of  the  struggles  which  mark  this  period  of  the  agony 
of  the  Western  Empire  are  copiously  described  by  the  monuments 
found  or  existing  in  this  corner  of  the  Forum.  In  August,  1539, 
two  pedestals  were  found  between  the  Arch  of  Severus  and  the 
church  of  SS.  Sergio  e  Bacco :  one  recording  the  African  ex- 
ploits of  Stilicho,  the  other  set  up  by  the  same  Pisidius  Romulus 
"  pro  singulari  eius  (Stilichonis)  amore  atque  providentia."  The 
first  was  removed  to  the  Palazzo  Capranica  alia  Valle,  the  second 
to  the  Villa  Medici.  In  1519-65,  a  few  feet  from  the  monument 
of  405,  Cardinal  Fai'nese  found  the  base  of  an  equestrian  group 
raised  to  Arcadius  and  Honorius,  in  commemoration  of  their  vic- 
tory over  Count  Gildo,  the  African  rebel  of  398.  The  inscribed 
slabs  of  this  monument  are  still  lying  abandoned  in  disorder  in 
this  vicinity.  In  the  same  year  405  a  triumphal  arch  w^as  raised 
to  the  three  Emperors,  "because  they  had  wiped  off  from  the 
face  of  the  earth  the  nation  of  the  Goths."  Four  years  later  Rome 
was  stormed  by  the  very  barbarians  whom  they  boasted  to  have 
annihilated. 

Literature.  —  Christian  Huulsen,  //  monumento  della  (juerrn  f/ihioiiica  sul 
foro  Romano,  in  Mittheil.,  1895,  p.  52. —  Notizie  degli  Scari,  1880,  p.  53. — 
Heinrich  Jordan,  Silloge  inscr.  fori  romani,  n.  Ill,  Ilia,  122.  —  Corpus  Jn- 
script.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1187,1730,  1731. 

XXIX.  The  Column  of  Phocas.  —  The  pedestal  of  this 
column,  to  which  the  most  conflicting  names  had  been  given  by 
early  topographers,  was  discovered  in  the  morning  of  February 
23,  1813,  with  the  inscription  which  tells  the  tale  of  its  erection. 
According  to  this  document,  the  pillar  was  set  up  in  honor  of 
Phocas  by  Zmaragdus,  exarch  of  Italy,  "jDro  innumerabilibus 
pietatis  eius  beneficiis,  et  pro  quiete  procurata  Italise,"  and  dedi- 
cated on  August  1,  608.  It  is  the  last  monument  ei'ected  in  the 
Forum  yet  free  from  the  ruins  which  were  to  bury  and  conceal  it 
so  soon  after  :  it  marks  the  close  of  the  ancient  period  and  the 
beginning  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  brick  pedestal  is  exactly  like 
the  eight  others  which  line  the  Sacra  Via ;  it  was  concealed  from 
view  by  a  flight  of  nine  marble  steps,  each  0.36  of  a  metre  high. 
The  inscription  is  engraved  on  the  marble  base  which  stands  at 


THE    COLUMN   OF  PHOCAS 


261 


the  top  of  the  steps.  Tlie  cohimu  is  fourteen  metres  high,  with  a 
diameter  of  1.89  metres,  and  leans  considerably  towards  the  south- 
east.    Its  style  (and  that  of  its  capital)  is  certainly  better  than 


Fig.  9S.  -  The  Column  of  Phocas-  The  Marble  Plutei  in  the  Foreground. 


that  prevailing  in  the  seventh  century;  therefore,  either  the 
column  has  been  removed  bodily  from  a  classic  edifice,  or  else 
Zmaragdus  dedicated  to  Phocas  a  monument  which,  up  to  his 
time,  had  borne  another  name.     I  believe  that  the  words  of  the 


262  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

inscription,  "  Zmaragdus  has  placed  a  gilt  statue  of  liis  Emperor 
on  the  top  of  this  sublime  column,"  must  be  understood  in  the 
latter  sense. 

References.  —  Diario  di  Roma,  .5  marzo,  1817  ;  4  agosto,  1818.  —  F.  Au- 
relin  Visconti,  Lettera  sopra  la  cohmnn  di  Fuca.  Rome,  de  Romani.s,  181-3.  — 
Carlo  Fea,  Osservaz.  suW  anfiteatro  Flavio,  p.  63,  n.  3.  —  Iscrizioni  di  monu- 
nienti  pubblici.    Rome,  Contedini,  1813,  ii.  2. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  ii.  1200. 

BUILDINGS   ON   THE   NORTH  SIDE   OF   THE  FORUM. 

XXX.  Curia  Hostilia — Curia  Julia  —  Senatus  (XXIII 
in  plan).  —  The  Senate-house  was,  politically  speaking,  the  most 
important  building  in  the  Roman  world.  The  place  where  it 
stands  was  occupied  at  an  early  age  by  a  small  wood,  by  a  cave 
overgrown  with  ivy,  and  by  a  spring,  at  which  Tarpeia  was  draw- 
ing water  when  she  saw  Tatius  for  the  first  time.  The  first  sena- 
tors met  here,  dressed  in  sheepskins,  in  a  square  hut  covered  by  a 
thatched  roof.  TuUus  Hostilius  gave  the  patres  conscrlpti  a  better 
seat,  an  oblong  hall,  built  of  stone  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
Comitium,  raised  on  a  platform  above  the  reach  of  floods,  and 
accessible  by  a  flight  of  steps,  down  which  the  body  of  Servius 
was  hurled  by  Tarquinius.  Inside,  it  contained  several  rows  of 
benches,  the  Speaker's  chair,  a  small  apartment  for  the  archives, 
and  a  vestibule.  The  outside  wall  on  the  Argiletum  was  decorated 
in  264  B.  c.  with  a  picture  representing  the  victory  of  M.  Valerius 
Messalla  over  King  Hieron  of  Syracuse.  Hence  the  name  ad  tahu- 
lam  Valeriam  popularly  given  to  the  place.  We  must  remember 
also  that,  the  Senate  being  forbidden  to  vote  a  measure  unless 
assembled  in  a  temple,  their  hall  was  consecrated.  Cicero  calls  it 
sometimes  a  templum  inauguratum,  sometimes  templum  puhlici  ron- 
cilii.  So  extreme  was  the  frugality  and  self-denial  of  Republican 
senators  that  they  had  never  allowed  their  hall  to  be  warmed  in 
winter.  On  January  6,  62  b.  c,  Cicero  wrote  to  his  brother  that 
the  Speaker  Appius  had  summoned  the  senators  to  an  important 
meeting,  when  it  grew  so  cold  that  he  was  obliged  to  dismiss  the 
assembly,  and  expose  its  members  to  the  railleiy  of  the  populace. 
Such  was  the  Curia  Hostilia. 

Sulla  repaired  and  perhaps  enlarged  it  in  80  b.  c.  'Twenty- 
eight  years  later,  it  was  burned  down  by  the  partisans  of  Clodius. 
The  revolutionary  instincts  of  the  mob  having  been  aroused  by 
fiery  speeches  from  the  Rostra,  a  certain  Sextus  Clodius,  a  scribe, 
broke  into  the  Curia  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  roughs  carrying  the 
body  of  the  murdered  anarchist,  and,  having  made  a  pp-e  of  the 


THE    CURIA   JULIA 


263 


benches,  tables,  books,  and  shelves,  set  the  building  ablaze  and 
destroyed  it  Avitli  the  adjoining  Basilica  Porcia. 

The  task  of  reerecting  it  in  a  more  splendid  form  was  given 
by  the  Senate  to  Faustus,  son  of  Sulla,  with  the  promise  that  it 
should  be  called,  from  both  of  them.  Curia  Cornelia.  The  works 
were  interrupted  a  few  years  later,  and  Lepidus  the  triumvir  was 
asked  to  substitute  for  the  Curia  a  temple  of  Felicitas.  In  M  b.  c, 
however,  Julius  Cfesar,  who  hated  to  see  the  name  of  the  Cornelii 
attached  to  the  Senate-house,  obtained  for  himself  the  commission 


FORUM       JULIUM 


COMITIUM 
Fig.  99.  —  Plau  of  the  Senate-House,  rebuilt  by  Diocletian. 

to  rebuild  it  under  the  name  of  Curia  Julia.  The  works  inter- 
rupted by  the  death  of  the  dictator,  on  jNIarch  15,  44,  were  con- 
tinued by  the  trium^-irs,  and  completed  by  Augustus.  The  solemn 
dedication  took  place  in  725  ('20  a.  d.).  a  j'ear  famous  for  the  three 
triumphs  celebrated  by  the  founder  of  the  Empire,  and  for  the 
closing  of  the  Temple  of  Janus  pace  terra  marique  parta.  Au- 
gustus added  to  the  Curia  Julia  a  chalcidicum  (called  in  later  times 
Atrium  Minervoi),  a  court  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  ;  placed  in 
the  hall  two  famous  pictures  signed  by  Nicias  and  Philochares,  the 
statue  of  Victory  from  Tarentum,  and  an  altar  before  it,  which 
was  inaugurated  on  August  28  of  the  same  year,  29.  It  is  need- 
less to  state  that  the  Curia  Julia  occupied  absolutely  the  same  con- 
secrated space,  the  same  templum  inauguratmn  as  the  old  Curia  Hos- 
tilia,  and  that  the  new  inauguration  mentioned  by  Gellius  (xiv.  7) 
refers  not  to  the  hall  itself,  but  to  the  additions  made  to  it. 

The  Curia  Julia  suffered  great  damage  from  the  fire  of  Xero, 


264 


A     WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACRA    VIA 


and  was  repaired  by  Domitian.  Another  fire  burnt  it  to  the 
ground  under  Carinus,  and  Diocletian  reconstructed  it  under  the 
name  of  Senatus.  I  have  found  in  the  Ufiizi  at  Florence  and  in 
the  Kunstgewerbe  Museum  at  Berlin,  a  precious  set  of  drawings 
by  Antonio  da  Sangallo,  Baldassarre,  Sallustio  Peruzzi,  and  others, 
in  which  Diocletian's  work  is  illustrated  in  every  architectural  and 
decorative  detail. 

Literature.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  L'  aula  e  gli  uffici  del  Senato  romano, 
Rome,  Salviucci,  1883  (Atti  Lincei,  vol.  xi.  28  genn.  1883)  ;  and  Ancient  Rome, 
p.  77.  —  Tliedenat,  in  Daremberg  and  SagUo's  Dictivnnaire,  p.  1293. 

The  Senate-house  formed  a  rectangle  .51.28  metres  long  and  27.54 
metres  wide,  with  the  front  on  the  Comitium,  and  the  back  resting 
against  the  inclosure  wall  of  the  Forum  Julium,  a  huge  construc- 
tion of  tufa  and  travertine  (see  Fig.  99). 

On  the  right  side  it  touched  the  Argiletum,  viz.,  the  open  space 
preceding  the  Forum  Transitorium,  in  the  middle  of  which  stood 
the  Temple  of  Janus ;  on  the  left  it  bordered  on  a  small  square 
ornamented  with  a  fountain,  composed  of  a  river  god  (the  Marfo- 
rio  of  the  Capitoline  Museum)  from  whose  urn  the  water  fell  into 
a  tazza  of  granite  (now  in  front  of  the  Quirinal  palace).  The  hall 
itself  was  25.20  metres  long,  17.61  metres  wide.  Its  walls  were 
covered  with   marble   incrustations  like   those    of   SS.   Cosma   e 

Damiano,  of  the  Hierusa- 
lem  (S.  Croce),  of  the 
Basilica  of  Junius  Bas- 
sus,  etc.,  and  they  are  de- 
scribed by  A.  da  Sangallo 
and  Etienne  du  Perac. 
Cardinal  du  Bellay  de- 
stroyed them  about  1550. 
I  have  discovered  a  sketch 
of  three  panels  in  a  draw- 
ing formerly  in  the  Des- 
tailleur  collection,  now 
in  the  Kunstgewerbe  at 
Berlin  (portfolio  f.  A. 
376,  pi.  35).  The  quality 
of  the  marbles  is  carefully  noted :  "  sei'pentin,  porfide,  marmo," 
etc.,  and  also  the  position  of  the  panels :  "  deli  dui  bande  de  la 
nice  "  on  either  side  of  the  apse. 

The  hall  was  covered  by  a  vaulted  ceiling,  with  heavily  gilt 


Fig.  100.  - 


-  The  Marble  Incrustations  of  the  Senate 
Hall. 


THE   SEN  ATE- HO  USE 


265 


Fig.  101.  —  Details  of  Cornice  of  the  Senate  Hall. 


lacunaria.     On  the  outside,  the  building  appeared  rather  shabby : 

plain  brick  walls  were  plastered  over  in  imitation  of  marble.     The 

cornice  was  more  elaborate, 

as  shown  by  the  following 

sketch  of  the  Anonymus  of 

Destailleur. 

The  bas-reliefs  of  the  ped- 
iment represented,  accord- 
ing to  Ligorio  (Bodl.,  p.  7), 
"  certi  mostri  marini  chia- 
mati  Tritoni  quali  suona- 
vano  certe  bucine.  ..." 
Traces  of  the  stucco  work 
can  still  be  seen  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  fa9ade.  The  Senate-house  was  doubly  christian- 
ized :  the  hall  of  assembly  at  the  time  of  Pope  Honorius  I.  (circa 
630),  under  the  invocation  of  S.  Adriano ;  the  offices  or  secreta- 
7-ium  ajiiplLssimi  Senatus,  about  the  same  epoch,  under  the  invoca- 
tion of  S.  Martina.  They  kept  their  classic  form  and  retained 
their  classic  adornments  until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
centm-y.  Cardinal  Michele  Bonelli  under  Sixtus  V.  cut  the  build- 
ing in  two  with  his  new  "  Via  Bonella."  The  church  of  S.  Adri- 
ano was  modernized  jiartly  in  1580  by  Cardinal  Agostino  Cusano, 
partly  in  1654  by  Alfonso  Sotomayor ;  that  of  S.  Martina  by  Ur- 
ban VIII.  and  Piero  da  Cortona. 

The  bronze  gates  of  the  Curia  were  removed  to  S.  Giovanni  in 
Laterano  by  Alexander  VII.,  but  as  the  folds  measured  only  5.79 
metres  in  height  and  3.56  in  width,  while  the  size  of  the  Lateran 
door  was  considerably  larger,  Borromini  was  obliged  to  add  a  band 
to  the  ancient  metal  work.  The  band  is  ornamented  with  the 
typical  stars  of  the  Chigi.  Martinelli  says  that  while  the  bronze 
folds  were  thus  adapted  to  their  new  destination,  several  coins 
were  discovered  hidden  between  the  inside  and  outside  panels,  one 
of  which  bore  the  name  and  the  image  of  Domitian. 

Literature.  —  Giuseppe  Biaiichini,  Dissertazione  sopra  In  Curia  (in  Cod. 
Vat.,  8113,  f.  113).  —  Lucas  Holstenius,  De  origine  ecclesim  S.  Hadriani  (in 
Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  306). — Luigi  Canina,  Sufili  edijici  esistenti  nel 
luogo  ora  occupato  dalln  chiesa  di  S.  Martina.  Rome,  1830. —  Theodor  Monimsen, 
De  Comitio  romano,  curiis,  Janique  templo  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1844,  p.  288).  — 
Franz  Reber,  Die  Larje  der  Curia  Hontilia  iind  der  Curia  Julia,  18.58.  —  Detlef- 
.sen,  De  Comitio  romano  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1860,  p.  138).  —  Auer,  Der  Altar  der 
Gottin  Victoria  in  der  Curia  Julia  zu  Rom.  Vienna,  18.59.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani, 
Z,'  aula  e  gli  uffici  del  Senato  romano,     Rome,  Salviucci,  1883  (Atti  Lincei, 


266  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

vol.  xi.  "28  gean.  188;3). — J.  H.  Middletoii,  The,  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome, 
vol.  i.  p.  239.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  D<is  Comitium  und  seine  Denkmdler  (in 
Mittheil.,  1893,  p.  279,  pi.  4)  with  the  comments  of  Th^denat,  in  Daremberg 
and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1292,  n.  7. 

XXXI.  The  Comitium  (XXIV  in  plan).  —  The  space  between 
the  Rostra  Vetera  and  the  front  of  the  Senate-house,  neatly  paved 
with  slabs  of  travertine,  marks  the  site  of  the  Comitium.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  street  passing  through  the  Arch  of  Sejv 
timius  Severus,  by  which  the  Rostra  and  the  Forum  are  separated 
from  the  Comitium,  is  an  addition  of  the  third  century  after  Christ. 
Before  it,  the  two  places  were  separated  only  by  a  few  steps.  In 
the  early  days  of  Rome  the  Comitinm  was  the  centre  of  civil  and 
political  business,  while  the  Forum  was  simply  used  as  a  market- 
place ;  but  with  the  increase  of  the  population  and  with  the  spread 
of  democracy  the  centre  was  shifted  to  the  Forum,  and  the  Co- 
mitium lost  forever  its  importance.  Its  main  ornaments  wei'e  the 
statue  of  Atta  Navius,  the  augur  who  cut  the  whetstone  with  the 
razor,  and  the  puteal  under  which  whetstone  and  razor  had  been 
buried ;  and  the  Jicux  Naria,  a  hg-tree  which  the  popular  fancy 
believed  to  have  been  transplanted  here  from  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber  by  the  same  miracle-working  augur.  It  was  considered  to 
represent  the  Jicus  ruminalis  which  had  sheltered  with  its  shade 
the  infant  twins  sucking  the  she  wolf ;  and  this  event  was  recorded 
by  a  bronze  group  not  unlike  the  one  now  preserved  in  the  Palazzo 
dei  Conservatory  (Compare  Ilelbig's  Guide  to  the  Collection  of 
Antiquities  in  Rome,  vol.  i.  p.  459,  n.  618.)  There  were  also  the 
statues  of  Porsena,  of  Iloratius  Codes,  of  Hermodoros  from  Ephe- 
sus,  who  had  lielped  the  decemvirs  in  the  codification  of  the  laws, 
of  Pythagoras,  Alcibiades,  and  others.  Concerning  the  last  men- 
tioned, Emiio  Quirino  Visconti  observes  that  the  noble  statue  of 
the  Museo  Pio  Clementino,  known  as  the  "  Gladiatore "  or  the 
"  Atleta  Mattel"  (No.  611  sala  della  Biga),  is  nothing  else  than  a 
marble  copy  of  the  bronze  figure  of  Alcibiades  in  the  Comitium, 
and  corroborates  his  statement  by  comparing  the  features  of  the 
head  with  those  of  bust  Xo.  510  in  the  Hall  of  the  Muses,  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  the  Greek  hero.  Eniil  Braun  (Ruins  and  Muse- 
ums, p.  282,  n.  166)  says :  "  It  is  not  impossible  that  this  statue, 
originally  in  the  Villa  Mattel,  is  a  repetition  of  that  placed  upon 
the  Comitium,  although  positive  proofs  are  wanting."  Wolfgang 
Helbig  (Guide,  etc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  192  and  235)  denies  any  connection 
between  the  marble  of  the  Vatican  and  the  bronze  of  the  Comitium. 

The  only  monuments  visible  in  the  narrow  ledge  of  the  Comi- 


THE    TEMPLE    Of   JULIUS    CjESAR  2,&1 

tium  yet  excavated  are  two  marble  pedestals  of  statues  dedicated, 
one  to  Flavins  Julius  Coustantius  (350-361),  by  Memmius  Vitrasius 
Orfitus,  prefect  of  the  city  in  353-354 ;  the  other  to  Arcadius  (395- 
408),  by  Ceionius  Rufius  Albinus,  prefect  in  398.  These  and  other 
pedestals  lined  the  border  of  the  Comitium  towai'ds  the  Argiletum, 
the  pavement  of  which  has  been  excavated  for  a  length  of  ten  or 
fifteen  metres  only. 

References. — Brecher,  Die  Lage  des  Comitium,  etc.  Berlin,  1870.  —  H. 
Dernburg,  Uber  die  Lage  des  Comitium  und  des  prdtorischen  Tribunals  (in 
Bull.  Inst.,  1863,  p.  38).  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Be  Comitio  romano,  etc.  (in 
Aunal.  Instit.,  vol.  xvi.,  1844,  p.  288).  —  Franz  Reber,  Bie  Lage  der  Curia. 
1858.  —  Detlefsen,  Be  Comitio  romano  (in  Ann.  Inst.,  vol.  xxxii.,  1860,  ]). 
138,  pi.  D).  — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Atti  Lincei,  vol.  xi.  28  genn.  1883.^Thonias 
Dyer,  Roma  (in  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Geography,  vol.  ii.  p.  775).  — 
Orazio  Marucchi,  Bescript.  du  forum  romain,  p.  51.  —  Christian  Huelsen  (in 
Mittheilungen,  vol.  viii.,  1893,  p.  279). 

The  other  two  buildings  on  the  north  side  of  the  Forum  were 
the  Temple  of  Janus  (XXIV  A)  and  the  Basilica  Emilia  (XXV). 
Both  still  lie  buried  under  the  modern  embankment ;  and  as  it  is 
not  my  scope  to  write  a  manual  on  Eoman  topography,  but  simply 
to  guide  the  student  and  the  traveler  in  their  visit  to  monuments 
and  ruins  which  have  been  made  accessible  by  modern  excavations, 
I  shall  proceed  at  once  to  describe  the 

BUILDINGS   OX   THE  EA.ST   SIDE  OF  THE  FORUM. 

XXXn.  ^DES  Divi  luLii  (Temple  of  Julius  Caesar)  (XXVI 
in  plan).  —  The  spot  where  the  body  of  Caesar  had  been  cremated 
on  March  17.  44,  was  consecrated  by  the  erection  of  an  altar  and 
of  a  column  of  Xumidian  marble,  on  which  the  words  parenti  patrice 
were  inscribed.  The  illicit  worship  was  stopped  by  Antonius ;  C. 
Amatius,  the  leader  of  the  populace,  was  put  to  death,  and  many 
of  his  partisans  were  crucified,  if  slaves  ;  or,  if  citizens,  hurled 
from  the  Tarpeian  rock.  In  42  b.  c,  however,  the  triumvirs 
decided  to  erect  a  temple  on  the  historical  spot;  Augustus  began 
its  construction  in  33,  and  dedicated  it  on  August  18  of  the 
memorable  year  725  (29  a.  d.).  The  programme  of  the  ceremony 
included,  among  other  performances,  the  Trojan  games,  gladiato- 
rial and  theatrical  shows,  and  an  exhibition  of  wild  beasts  upon 
which  the  Romans  had  never  set  eyes  before.  The  temple  was 
enriched  with  treasures  conquered  in  the  Egyptian  campaign  and 
with  pictures  representing  the  Dioscui-i,  the  Victory,  and  the  Venus 
Anadvoraene.     This  last,  a  masterpiece  of  Apelles,  having  been 


268 


A    WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACRA    VIA 


injured  by  damp  and  age,  was  removed  from  the  temple  by  Nero, 
who  substituted  in  its  place  another  by  Dorotheos. 

The  temple,  being  in  the  lowest  portion  of  the  Forum  and  of  the 
Sacra  Via,  was  raised  on  a  high  platform  to  protect  it  from  the 
inundations  of  the  Tiber.  This  platform  of  concrete  was  strength- 
ened by  perimetral  and  cross-walls  made  of  blocks  of  tufa  and 
travertine,  which  were  stolen  away  in  the  excavations  of  1543,  so 
that  it  is  hardly  possible  to-day  to  recognize  the  former  shape  of 
the  temple.  The  fragments  of  its  entablature  (one  of  which  is 
lying  on  the  platform)  belong  to  a  very  late  restoration.  The 
following  view  of  the  platform  was  taken  in  1872  at  the  very 
moment  of  its  discovery. 

The  remains  of  a  semicircular  tribune  on  the  edge  of  the  podium 
pertain  to  the  celebrated  Rostra  Julia,  ornamented  by  Augustus 
with  the  beaks  of  the  ships  captured  in  the  battle  of  Actium.     It 


#.%.-^i^ 


-Jii--x^mm 


Fig.  102.  —  The  Rostra  Julia  aud  the  Temple  of  Caesar. 


was  from  this  tribune  that  the  same  emperor  pronounced  the  ora- 
tion on  the  death  of  his  sister  Octavia.  Tiberius  likewise  spoke 
from  it  on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  Augustus.  A  medal 
struck  in  the  year  119,  repi'esenting  an  allocution  of  Hadrian,  from 
the  same  rostra,  proves  that  they  continued  to  be  used  for  Imperial 
communications  for  a  lona;  time. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   CASTOR   AND   POLLUX 


269 


References.  —  Babelou,  Moiin.  de  la  republique,  ii.  p.  59,  ii.  138.  —  Cohen, 
Monn.  impth:,  Hadrian,  n.  416—119.  —  Edoardo  Brizio,  in  Rosa's  Relazione  suite 
scoperte  archtologiche,  etc.,  Rome,  1873,  p.  59  ;  and  Bulleit.  Instit.,  1872,  pp. 
225,  237.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Der  Tempel  des  d.  Julius  (in  Hermes,  ix.  p.  342). 

—  Otto  Richter,  Die  Augustbauten  auf  dem  Forum  (in  Jahrbuch  Arch.  Instit., 
1889,  p.  140  ;   and  Mittheilungen  of  the  same  Institute,  1888,  p.  99). 

XXXIII.  Triumphal  Arch  of  Augustus  (XXVII  in  plan). 

—  In  the  same  year  (725)  in  which  the  dedication  of  the  Temple 
ot"  Cfesar  and  of  the  Curia  Julia  took  place,  Augustus  celebrated 
three  triumphs  for  his  victories  in  Dalmatia,  in  Egypt,  and  at 
Actium,  and  the  Senate  offered  him  a  triumphal  arch  in  the  Forum. 
The  same  honor  was  granted  to  him  in  IS  b.  c.  for  the  recovery  of 
the  flags  and  of  the  j^risoners  lost  by  Licinius  Crassiis  in  the  Par- 
thian war.  Otto  Richter  discovered  the  foundations  of  the  arch  of 
725  in  1888,  in  the  narrow  space  which  separates  the  Temple  of 
C?esar  from  that  of  the  Castores.  I  myself  proved,  as  far  back  as 
1882,  that  this  arch  had  been  found  and  destroyed  by  the  workmen 
of  the  fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro  between  1540  and  1546  exactly  in  that 
place,  and  that  the  inscription  in  "  Corpus,"  vol.  vii.  n.  872,  belonged 
to  it.     The  arch  had  three  openings  like  the  one  of  Severus. 

Literature.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  April,  1882.  —  Otto 
Richter,  Mittheil.,  1888,  p.  99;  and  Jahrbuch,  1889,  pp.  153-157. —  F.  Nichols, 
The  Roman  Forum,  p.  140;  Bull,  com.,  1888,  p.  117. — Theodor  Mommsen, 
Res  gestm,  9. —  Christian  Hueisen,  Mittheil.,  1889,  p.  244. 

XXXIV.  ^DES  Castorum  (Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux) 
(XXVIII     in     plan). — 

This  was  dedicated  by 
A.  Postumius  on  January 
27,  482  B.  c,  on  the  spot, 
near  the  pool  of  Juturna, 
where  the  Dioscuri  had 
appeared  in  496  to  an- 
nounce the  victory  of 
Lake  Regillus.  It  was 
rebuilt  in  119  by  L.  Me- 
tellus  Dalmaticus  with 
the  prize  money  of  the 
Dalmatian  war,  and  or- 
namented with  statues 
and      pictures,      among 

which  was  the  portrait  of    Y\g.  103.  —  Fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan  with  Tein- 
Flora  the  courtesan.     Al-  pie  of  Castores. 


270  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACBA    VIA 

though  named  officially  from  both  the  Dioscuri,  it  went  usually 
by  that  of  Castor  alone,  as  shown,  among  other  documents,  by  the 
fragment  of  the  marble  plan  discovered  in  1882  (Fig.  103). 

Bibulus,  whose  name  was  never  pronounced  with  that  of  Caesar, 
his  more  famed  colleague  in  the  a3dileship,  used  to  say  that  he 
shared  the  same  fate  as  Pollux.  It  is  interesting  to  follow  the 
story  of  the  extortions  of  Verres  in  connection  with  this  temple, 
as  related  by  Cicero,  because  it  throws  much  light  on  the  system 
adopted  by  the  Romans  to  keep  their  buildings  in  repair.  The 
censors  had  entered  into  a  contract  with  P.  Junius,  to  take  charge 
of  the  temple  and  of  its  contents  for  a  fixed  yearly  sum  of  money. 
Junius  died  leaving  a  son,  a  minor,  in  w^hose  name  the  contract 
was  transferred  to  a  L.  Rabonius.  Verres,  who,  as  praetor  urba- 
nus,  had  special  cognizance  of  repairs  to  public  buildings,  thinking- 
it  intolerable  that  out  of  so  great  a  temple  and  so  large  a  contract 
he  should  not  obtain  some  plunder,  summoned  Rabonius  before 
him  to  declare  what  could  be  required  from  his  ward  that  he 
had  not  fulfilled.  The  answer  was  that  no  difficulty  whatever  had 
arisen  from  the  contract  and  that  the  temple  was  in  perfect  repair. 
Verres  goes  himself  to  inspect  the  building.  "  The  only  thing 
you  can  do  here,"  suggests  one  of  his  accomplices,  "  is  to  require 
the  columns  to  be  made  perpendicular."  In  Junius'  contract, 
though  the  number  of  columns  was  specified,  not  a  word  was  said 
about  the  perpendicular ;  yet,  overpowered  by  Verres,  L.  Rabonius 
agrees  to  do  the  work  at  560,000  sesterces,  the  sum  to  be  taken 
out  of  the  minor's  estate,  and  to  find  its  way,  for  the  greater  part, 
into  the  praetor's  hands.  The  work  done,  under  these  circum- 
stances, is  thus  described  by  Cicero :  "  Those  columns  which  you 
see  freshly  whitened  have  been  taken  down  by  machinery  and 
erected  again  with  the  same  stones.  Nay,  some  of  them  have  not 
been  touched  at  all.  There  is  one  from  which  the  old  plastering 
only  has  been  removed,  and  new  stucco  applied."  We  gather 
from  the  words  of  Cicero  that  the  columns  of  the  temple  of 
Metellus  were  of  stone  covered  with  fine  stucco,  like  those  of  the 
temples  of  Fortuna  Virilis,  of  Hercules  Magnus  Custos,  and  of 
Cybele  on  the  Palatine. 

The  Temple  of  Castor,  with  its  lofty  substructures  and  com- 
manding situation,  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  objects  of  the 
Forum,  and  became  in  turbulent  times  a  rallying-point  of  great 
political  importance.  Popular  meetings  were  often  held  in  front 
of  it,  when  its  pronaos  served  the  purpose  of  the  Rostra.  In  88 
B.  c.  Sulla  and  Q.  Pompeius  Rufus,  his  colleague  in  the  consvil- 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CASTOR   AND    POLLUX  271 

ship,  were  attacked  here  by  the  partisans  of  jNIarius.  The  contest 
between  Cato  and  Metellus,  respecting  the  recall  of  Pompeius 
fi'om  Asia,  also  took  place  on  the  terrace  before  the  temple.  In 
68  B.  c,  during  the  troubled  consulate  of  Piso,  when  Cicero's 
banishment  was  discussed,  the  temple  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
partisans  of  Clodius ;  its  steps  were  torn  up  and  used  as  missiles, 
and  the  building  became,  in  the  words  of  Cicero,  a  citadel  in  the 
hands  of  his  political  enemies. 

The  present  ruins,  considered  to  be  a  gem  of  art,  date  from  the 
reconstruction  of  Tiberius  and  Drusus,  7  b.  c.  Caligula  opened 
a  communication  between  the  cella  and  his  palace,  pretending  he 
would  make  the  sons  of  Jupiter  and  Leda  his  private  doorkeepers. 
He  also  used  to  place  himself  unobserved  between  the  statues  of 
the  divine  twins,  so  as  to  get  a  share  in  the  honors  paid  to  them. 
Claudius  restored  the  temple  to  its  former  state. 

Two  annual  celebrations  were  connected  with  it,  —  one  on  Janu- 
ary 27,  the  anniversary  day  of  the  dedication ;  another  on  July 
15,  in  memory  of  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus.  The  Roman 
knights,  five  thousand  strong,  waving  olive  branches,  clad  in  pur- 
ple garments,  and  wearing  the  decorations  gained  on  the  battle- 
field, mustered  at  the  Temple  of  Mars  outside  the  walls,  and,  after 
marching  through  the  city,  passed  in  front  of  the  Temple  of  the 
Dioscuri,  presenting  a  sight  worthy,  as  Dionysius  says,  of  Rome's 
Imperial  greatness. 

No  remains  of  a  classic  edifice  have  been  studied,  sketched,  ad- 
mired by  artists  as  have  the  three  standing  columns  of  this  temple. 
Baldassarre  Peruzzi  calls  them  la  piti  hella  e  meglio  lavorata  ojjera 
di  Roma.  The  temple  must  have  fallen  at  a  very  early  period, 
because  the  lane  between  S.  M.  Liberatrice  and  S.  M.  della  Grazie 
has  been  called  via  trium  coiumnarum  at  least  since  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  The  first  excavations  of  which  w"e  have  posi- 
tive knowledge  date  from  tlie  end  of  the  quattrocento.  They  are 
described  by  Pomponio  Leto  and  Francesco  Albertino.  The  sec- 
ond date  from  1516-49,  wlien,  according  to  Ligorio,  two  pieces  of 
the  entablature  were  discovered,  one  of  which  served  Loi-enzetto 
for  his  Jonah  in  the  Chigi  chapel  at  S.  M.  del  Popolo ;  the  other, 
Michelangelo  for  the  pedestal  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  M. 
Aurelius.  Ligorio,  as  usual,  tells  a  falsehood,  because  the  Jonah 
was  finished  in  the  lifetime  of  Raphael  (f  1520).  In  1773  part  of 
the  walls  of  the  cella  w'as  destroyed,  the  marble  coating  removed, 
and  even  some  of  the  foundation  walls  demolished  for  the  sake  of 
the  blocks  of  stone  of  w  hich  they  were  built.     In  consequence  of 


272 


A     WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 


this  last  spoliation,  the  size  of  the  substructures  is  reduced  by 
half,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  reduced  to  only  the  central  mass  of  con- 
crete ;  but  the  impressions  left  against  this  mass  by  the  blocks  of 
stone  of  which  the  outside  wall  was  built  enable  us  to  get  an 
idea  of  the  original  size.     (See  Fig.  104.) 


Fig.  104.  —  The  Substructure  of  the  Temple  of  Castores. 

Other  excavations  took  place  in  1799,  1811,  1816,  and  1818. 
The  temple  was  finally  liberated  from  the  accumulation  of  mod- 
ern soil  in  December,  1871  (on  three  sides  only). 

The  temple,  in  common  with  other  religious  edifices,  was  used 
as  a  safe  or  repository  for  objects  of  value,  which  private  owners 
were  afraid  of  retaining  at  home.  There  was  also  a  poyiderarium 
of  standard  weights  and  measures,  many  of  which  are  found  in 
our  excavations  inscribed  wdth  the  words  'EXACtum  ad  CASXORes. 
A  fragment  of  the  great  inscription  of  the  frieze  lies  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs ;  it  contains  traces  only  of  two  letters,  which  have 
been  completed  by  Professor  Tomassetti :  — 
(PoUuci  •  e)T  •  c(astori). 

Literature.  —  Maurice  Albert,  Le  culte   de    Castor  et  Pollux   en  Italie. 


THE    BASILICA    JULIA  273 

Paris,  1883.  —  Luigi  Canina,  Supplem.  al  Besgodets,  chap.  x.  pi.  33.  —  Antonio 
Nibby,  Roma  neW  anno  1838,  part  i.  vol.  ii.  p.  82.  —  Pietro  Rosa,  Rduzione 
mile  scoperte.  Rome,  1873,  p.  53.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  J)i.-<t.,  1871,  p.  11. 
—  Giuseppe  Gatti,  Annal.  Inst.,  1881,  p.  181,  pi.  N.  —  Giuseppe  Tomassetti,  La 
epigrafe  del  tempio  dei  Castor-i  (in  Bull,  com.,  1890,  p.  209).  —  Orazio  Maruc- 
chi,  Guide  du  Forum.     Rome,  1885,  p.  119.  —  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1896,  p.  290. 

BUILDINGS   ON  THE   SOUTH  SIDE  OF  THE  FORUM. 

XXXY.  Between  the  edifice  just  described  and  the  Basilica 
Julia  runs  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  or  street  of  the  Tuscans  (XXIX  in 
plan),  which  led  from  the  Forum  to  the  Circus  Maximus.  The 
origin  of  its  name  is  variously  explained  by  different  authors,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  came  from  a  colony  of  Tuscans  who  set- 
tled in  its  vicinity,  at  the  time  either  of  Cseles  Yibenna  or  of  Por- 
senna.  The  tradition  on  this  point  seems  justified  by  the  presence 
of  the  shrine  and  statue  of  Vertumnus,  at  the  entrance  to  the 
street,  whose  worship  woidd  have  been  imported  by  the  Etruscans, 
as  that  of  Semo  Sancus  had  been  imported  on  the  Quirinal  by  the 
Sabine  colonists,  bvtt  the  Etruscan  origin  of  the  god  Vertumnus  is 
more  than  doubtful. 

The  street  vied  with  the  Sacra  Yia  in  religious  importance,  being 
the  route  followed  by  the  great  procession  of  the  Ludi  Romani, 
in  which  the  statues  of  the  gods  placed  on  thensce  (four-wheeled 
chariots)  were  carried  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Circus.  It  was  also 
a  busy  trade  quarter.  Horace  calls  these  tradesmen  Tusci  turba 
impia  vici,  and  alludes  to  the  street  as  the  place  to  which  the  works 
of  unappreciated  poets  were  carried,  to  wrap  up  parcels  of  spices 
or  perfumes. 

XXXA^'I.  Basilica  Julia  (XXX  in  plan),  begun  by  Cgesar 
about  54  B.  c,  on  the  site  of  the  Tabernae  Veteres,  of  the  Basilica 
Sempronia,  and  of  the  house  of  Scipio  the  African  (?),  and  dedi- 
cated in  an  unfinished  state  in  the  year  46,  together  with  the 
Forum  Julium  and  the  Temple  of  Venus  Genetrix.  Augustus 
rebuilt  and  enlarged  it  after  a  fire,  and  opened  it  for  public  use  in 
the  year  12,  under  the  name  of  his  grandsons  Cains  and  Lucius. 
It  consists  of  a  nave  and  four  aisles  divided  by  square  pilasters  of 
travertine,  once  coated  with  marble.  The  fronts  and  sides  were 
built  of  solid  marble,  with  half  columns  of  the  Doric  order,  pro- 
jecting out  of  square  pilasters.  The  half  column  which  stands 
alone  and  perfect  on  the  side  of  tlie  Sacra  Via  was  reconstructed 
by  Rosa  in*  1873  ;    those  on  the  side  of  the  Vicus  Jugarius  are 


274 


A    WALK    THROUGH   THE    SACRA    VIA 


genuine,  although  in  a  ruined  state.  The  Basilica  was  destroyed 
by  fire  under  Carinus  and  rebuilt  by  Diocletian,  -who  substituted 
brick  pilasters  and  arches  for  the  old  solid  structure  of  travertine. 
The  mixture  of  the  two  styles  and  epqchs  is  satisfactorily  illus- 
trated by  the  following  view,  taken  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
Basilica,  by  the  Lacus  Servilius.     (Fig.  105.) 

In  March,  1883,  a  pedestal  was  found  on  the  edge  of  the  steps 
descending  to  the  Sacra  Via,  with  the  inscription  :  gabinivs  •  vet- 


Fig.  105.  —  The  Southwest  Corner  of  the  Basilica  Julia. 


Tivs  •  PROBiANVS  *  vir  •  clarissimus  •  PRjEFectus  •  vrb«  •  statvam 

QV^  •  BASILICA    •    IVLI.E   '  A  •  SE    •    NOVITER    •    REPARAT^,  •  ORNA- 

MENTO  •  ESSEX  •  ADiECiT.  Probiauus  was  prefect  of  Rome  a.  d. 
377,  under  Valens,  Gratian,  and  Valentinian.  He  restored  the 
Basilica  and  enriched  it  with  works  of  art  and  statues  removed 
from  temples  which  were  either  closed  or  falling  into  ruin.  Five 
pedestals  bearing  his  name  have  already  been  found.  The  origin 
of  the  first  is  not  known,  but  it  was  first  noticed  in  the  Santa- 
croce  Palace  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  second  was  discovered 
in  1554  near  the  Column  of  Phocas ;    the  third  in  1655  by  the 


THE   BASILICA   JULIA  275 

Senate-house  ;  the  fourth  in  18:35  on  the  steps  of  the  Basilica 
itself ;  the  fifth,  a  fragment,  is  kept  at  S.  Clemente.  We  know 
that  three,  at  least,  of  these  statues  were  the  work  of  Polykletos, 
of  Timarchos,  and  of  Praxiteles,  these  celebrated  names  being  en- 
graved on  plinths  discovered  within  or  near  the  Basilica. 

LiTERATUKE.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Bull,  com.,  1893,  p.  174.  —  Rodolfo 
LaiK'iaiii, -S«<//.  /ns<.,  1871,  p.  245.  —  Heinrich  iorAsm,  Ephemeris  epiijraphim, 
vol.  iii.  p.  277.  — Eugene  Petersen,  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1895,  p.  495. 

The  question  has  been  asked  whether  the  Basilica  was  totally  or 
partially  hypsethral,  and  in  case  it  was  not,  whether  it  was  vaulted 
over  or  covered  by  a  roof  resting  on  trusses.  The  question  was 
rather  complicated  by  a  discovery  I  made  in  1878.  During  the 
inundation  of  that  year,  which  brought  the  Tiber  on  a  level  with 
the  marble  floor  of  the  building,  I  noticed  that,  while  the  north- 
east corner  was  just  lapped  by  the  still  waters,  the  southeast  was 
fifteen  centimetres  above  them,  the  southwest  forty-five  centi- 
metares,  the  northwest  thirty-seven  centimetres.  The  floor  of  the 
basilica,  therefore,  is  slanting  diagonally  from  the  corner  by  the 
Lacus  Servilius  to  that  by  the  Temple  of  Castor ;  but  this  fact 
does  not  imply  that  the  place  was  hypa'thral,  and  that  its  pave- 
ment could  be  rained  upon.  The  floors  of  our  churches  of  S.  Saba 
and  of  S.  Maria  in  Aracoeli  are  equally  inclined  towards  the  front 
door,  perhaps  to  facilitate  the  washing  of  their  mosaic  floors.  The 
four  aisles  of  the  Basilica  Julia  were  covered  by  a  vaulted  ceiling, 
large  masses  of  which,  with  stucco  mouldings,  were  discovered  in 
1852,  and  destroyed  in  1872 ;  the  nave  was  roofed  over. 

The  Basilica  Julia  was  the  seat  of  the  court  of  the  centumviri, 
who  sometimes  were  divided  into  four  sections,  sometimes  sat  all 
together  when  the  case  appeared  to  be  of  exceptional  gravity. 
Pliny  the  younger  has  left  an  account  of  the  aspect  of  the  Basilica 
on  the  day  of  a  great  trial.  The  case  was  brought  before  the  four 
united  sections  of  the  covu't.  Eighty  judges  sat  on  their  benches, 
while  on  either  side  of  them  stood  the  eminent  lawyers  who  had  to 
conduct  the  prosecution  and  defend  the  accused.  The  great  hall 
could  hardly  contain  the  mass  of  spectators :  the  upper  galleries 
were  occupied  by  men  on  one  side,  by  women  on  the  other,  all 
anxious  to  hear,  which  was  very  difficult,  and  "to  see,  which  was 
easier.     Trajan  presided  over  this  court  more  than  once. 

The  remains  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  upper  galleries  are  yet 
visible  on  the  south  side,  together  with  the  shops  of  bankers  and 
money-changers,  known  in  epigraphic  documents  as  the  nummularii 
de  basilica  Julia.     (See  Fig.  106.) 


THE   BASILICA    JULIA  277 

The  Basilica  Julia  was  partly  christianized  towards  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century,  when  one  half  of  the  outer  aisle  on  the  Vicus 
Jugarius  was  dedicated  to  the  mother  of  the  Saviour  (S.  Maria 
de  Foro ;  later,  in  Cannaparia).  The  remains  of  the  church,  dis- 
covered partly  in  1871,  partly  in  1881,  were  not  treated  well,  so 
that,  of  a  neat  edifice,  with  apse,  nave,  aisles,  side  and  front  door, 
traces  of  fresco  paintings,  and  considerable  remains  of  the  work 
of  Roman  marmorarii  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  only 
one  column  is  left  standing  in  situ.  (See  Mazzanti,  in  Archivio 
storico  dell'  Arte,  1896,  p.  lU.) 

In  the  Middle  Ages  and  in  more  modern  times  the  Basilica  Julia 
has  been  used  first  as  a  rope-walk,  cannaparia,  then  as  a  workshop 
for  stone-cutters,  and  lastly  as  a  cemetery  for  the  hospital  of  la 
Consolazione.     (See  p.  242.) 

The  earliest  accounts  of  excavations  date  from  1496,  when  Adri- 
ano  di  Corneto,  the  pope's  collector  of  revenues  in  England,  was 
planning  the  construction  of  his  beautiful  palace  (now  Giraud-Tor- 
lonia)  in  the  Piazza  di  Scossacavalli,  of  which  he  made  a  present 
to  King  Henry  VII.  in  1505.  All  the  travertines  used  by  Bramante 
in  the  facjade  of  the  palace  came  from  the  Basilica  Julia. 

The  excavations  were  resumed  in  July,  1500,  by  Gregorio  da 
Bologna  and  Domenico  da  Castello,  continued  in  1511-12  by  Gio- 
vanni de'  Pierleoni,  and  in  1514  by  Jacopo  de  Margani.  In  the 
time  of  Gregory  XIII.  a  sitting  statue  of  a  Roman  magistrate 
was  discovered,  sold  to  Ferrante  de  Torres,  and  removed  to  Sicily. 
Flaminio  Vacca  restored  it  to  represent  Julius  Cjesar  covering  his 
head  at  the  sight  of  the  murderer  Brutus  ! 

In  1742  the  portion  of  the  Basilica  crossed  by  the  Cloaca  JVIaxima 
was  laid  bare,  with  its  pavement  of  giallo  antico,  a  cartload  of 
which  was  sold  to  the  stone-cutter  de  Blasii.  The  rest  of  the 
pavement  and  many  architectural  pieces  fell  a  prey  to  Chevalier 
Fredenheim  in  November,  1788  (to  March,  1789). 

Its  final  discovery,  begun  in  1848,  was  completed  in  1872.  The 
pavement  of  the  aisles,  of  white  marble,  is  covered  with  tabular 
lusorise,  gaming-tables  of  every  description,  about  which  consult, 
among  others,  Becq  de  Fouquieres'  "  Les  jeux  des  anciens ;  "  Fried- 
laender's  "  Sittengeschichte,"  vol.  i.  p.  376 ;  and  Huelsen's  "  Mit- 
theilungen,"  1896,  pp.  227-252. 

Literature.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Res  gestw  divi  Aurjusti,  iv.  13,  15. — 
Heinrich  Jordan,  Sylloge  inscript.  fori  rom.  (in  Ephemeris  epigr.,  1877,  pp. 
275-283) ;  and  Forma  urbis  romce,  pi.  3,  n.  20-23.  —  Otto  Gerhard,  Sulla  basilica 
Giulia  (in  Effemeridi  letterarie,  1824).  —  Oberlin,  Expose  d' tine  decouverte  de 


278  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACJRA    VIA 

M.  le  chev.  Fredenheim.  Strassburg,  1796.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  Inst., 
1871,  p.  6  ;  and  Bull,  com.,  1891,  p.  '229.  —  C.  Liidovico  Visconti,  Jl  rajiporto 
sulla  escavazione  della  basilica  Giulia.  Rome,  1872.  —  Angelo  Pellegrini,  Esca- 
vasione  della  basilica  Giulia  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1871,  pp.  225-23.3).  —  Thedenat  (in 
Daremberg  and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1303). 

XXXVII.  Vicus  JuGARius  (XXXI  in  plan),  leading  from  the 
Forum  Romanum  to  the  Forum  Olitorium  and  the  Porta  Car- 
mentalis,  under  the  cliffs  of  the  Capitoline,  known  as  the  Saxum 
Carmentse.  It  corresponds  to  some  extent  to  the  modern  streets 
of  la  Consolazione  and  la  Bufala.  At  the  point  where  the  Vicus 
Jugarius  touched  the  Basilica  Julia  there  was  a  fountain,  named 
Lacus  Servilius  from  the  member  of  the  Servilian  family  who  had 
built  it.  It  acquired  a  ghastly  notoriety  during  the  civil  wars  as 
the  place  where  Sulla  exposed  the  heads  of  the  victims  of  his  pro- 
scriptions. Agrippa  ornamented  it  with  the  figure  of  a  hydra. 
The  site  of  the  fountain  has  not  yet  been  explored. 

BUILDINGS   ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF   THE  FORUM. 

XXXVIII.  The  Rostra  Vetera  (XXXII  in  plan).  — The 
date  of  the  erection  of  this  renowned  platform,  from  which  magis- 
trates and  orators  addressed  the  people,  is  not  well  determined ;  it 
must  be  placed,  however,  between  449  b.  c,  when  the  old  Volkanal 
is  still  described  as  the  speaking  platform  of  Appius  Claudius,  and 
438,  when  the  first  mention  of  the  new  tribune  occurs  in  Livy  (iv. 
17).  In  338  C.  Msenius  ornamented  it  with  the  (six)  beaks  of  the 
war  vessels  captured  at  Antium,  from  which  it  took  the  name  of 
Rostra.  It  stood  near  the  border  line  between  the  Comitium  and 
the  Forum,  so  that  the  orators  could  be  easily  heard  by  the  i:»atri- 
cians  and  the  plebeians  at  the  same  time.  The  orators,  when  speak- 
ing, generally  turned  towards  the  Comitium  and  the  Curia,  until 
C.  Gracchus  or  Licinius  Crassus  introduced  the  habit  of  facing  the 
people  assembled  in  the  Forum.  The  proximity  of  the  Rostra  to 
the  Senate-house  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  leaders  of  the  mob, 
on  the  day  of  the  funeral  of  Clodius,  were  chased  from  them  by 
the  flames  which  were  consuming  the  Curia.  These  topographic 
references  correspond  exactly  to  the  place,  where  the  remains  of  a 
platform,  once  ornamented  with  projecting  bronze  ornaments,  and 
dating  from  the  fifth  century  b.  c,  have  actually  been  found  (see 
Plan,  p.  251).  It  has  been  the  fashion  among  modern  topographers 
to  believe  in  an  alleged  displacement  of  the  Rostra  from  one  place 
to  the  other  in  the  last  years  of  C?esar's  dictatorshii:).  They  seem 
to  forget  that  the  Rostra,  having  been  consecrated  by  the  augurs, 


THE    ROSTRA    VETERA  279 

were,  like  the  Curia,  a  tcmplum  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word ; 
so  they  are  called  by  Livy  (viii.  14)  and  by  Cicero  (In  Vatin.,  x. 
24).  As  the  Curia  itself  never  changed  its  position,  so  the  Rostra 
Vetera  have  never  been  removed  from  their  old  location,  nur  has 
the  relationship  between  the  two  temples  been  altered  or  broken. 
The  platform  which  we  behold  before  us  is  the  same  venerable 
nugyestum  from  which  the  warfare  of  centuries  between  aristocracy 
and  democracy  was  carried  on  in  Republican  times,  and  from 
which  Cicero  pronounced  two  of  his  orations  against  Catiline. 
Here  the  heads  of  Antony,  of  Octavius,  of  the  victims  of  Marius 
and  Sulla  were  exposed,  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  Sulla  himself 
and  of  Clodius ;  and  here  also  the  laws  of  the  twelve  tables  were 
exposed  to  view. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  Julius  Ca'sar  did  not  interfei-e  in 
some  way  with  the  old  Rostra ;  he  may  have  enlarged  them,  lined 
them  with  new  beaks,  and  repaired  in  a  general  way  the  damages 
of  the  revolution  of  the  Clodians,  but  he  did  not  change  their 
position,  lie  set  uj^  again  the  statues  of  Sulla  and  Pompey,  which 
had  been  removed  after  the  battle  of  Pharsalus,  and  raised  an 
equestrian  one  to  Octavian,  then  aged  only  nineteen.  We  hear 
also  of  a  magnificent  bronze  statue  representing  Hercules  expii-ing 
under  the  tunic  of  Nessus. 

The  head  and  the  hands  of  Cicero  were  shown  to  the  populace 
from  this  very  seat  of  his  former  triumphs.  Orations  on  the  death 
of  Ca'sar  and  of  Augustus  were  also  delivered  from  the  Rostra. 

LiTEKATUKE. —  F.  M.  Nlchols,  The  Roman  Forum,  pp.  197-217.  —  Ibid., 
Notizie  (hi  Rostn.  Rome,  Spithoever,  1885.  —  Heiiirich  Jordan,  Sui  rostri  del 
foro  Cm  Annal.  lust.,  1883,  ji.  4!);  and  Moniimcnti  delV  Inst.,  vol.  xi.  pi.  49). — 
'0(to  Richter,  Scavo  ai  rostri  del  foro  (in  Bull.  Inst'.,  1884,  p.  113).  — Tbid., 
Rfkongtriiltion  iind  Geschichte  drr  /viw /.■>•(•// ch  Ri'dnerhilline.  Berlin,  Weid- 
mann,  1884. —  Ibid.,  Die  romische  Rednerbiiline  (in  .Tahrbuch,  1889,  p.  1). 

XXXIX.  Three  monuments  connected  with  the  Rostra  deserve 
notice  :  the  Genius  P(>j)itli  liouiani.  the  J\Iilliariym  Aureton,  and  the 
fjmhilicus. 

No  trace  exists  of  the  first  monument.  It  consisted  of  an  fedicula 
or  shrine  with  a  golden  statue  of  the  Genius,  the  gift  of  the  Em- 
peror Aurelian,  before  which  sacrifices  were  offered  on  October  9. 
The  statue  was  still  standing  in  its  place  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century,  when  some  one  scratched  on  the  pavement  of  the  Basilica 
Julia  the  words  — 

GENIVS 

POPVLI     

ROM.\NI 


280  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACEA    VIA 

which  seem  to  make  the  half  of  a  "  tabula  lusoria  "  (three  words 
of  six  letters  in  three  lines).  The  small  circular  shrine  of  the 
Genius  {tempietto  di  marmo  di  forma  circulare)  was  discovered  in 
1539.  The  pedestal  of  the  Genius  of  the  Roman  armies  had  already 
been  found  in  1480. 

Literature. — Theodor  Mommsen,  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.,  Commentarii 
diurni,  October  9  ;  and  Ueber  der  Chronograph  vom  Jahre  354,  p.  648.  — 
Ludwig  Urlichs,  Codex  U.  R.  topoc/raphicus,  pp.  10,  11.  —  Heinrich  Jordan, 
Ephem.  ejngr.,  1876,  p.  278,  n.  40. — Ligorio,  Cod.  Neap.,  xxxiv.  p.  145. 

Milliarium  Aureum  (the  golden  milestone).  —  A  column  of  gilt 
bronze,  on  the  surface  of  which  were  noted  the  distances  from  the 
gates  of  Rome  to  the  postal  stations  on  each  of  the  main  roads 
radiating  from  the  metroj)olis.  It  was  erected  by  Augustus  in  29 
B.  c,  as  a  record  of  the  mensuratio  totius  orbis  on  which  he  and 
Agrippa  had  for  many  yeai-s  been  engaged.  Its  position  was  dis- 
covered in  1849-50,  together  with  the  x'emains  of  its  exquisite 
marble  base.  The  principal  historical  interest  of  the  Milliarium 
arises  from  the  meeting  which  Otho  had  here,  a.  d.  68,  with  the 
handful  of  Praetorians  who  committed  the  double  crime  of  mur- 
dering Galba  and  of  raising  Otho  to  the  Imperial  throne.^ 

The  Umbilicus  Romcc,  the  round  basement  of  which  still  exists 
at  the  other  end  of  the  platform,  near  the  Arch  of  Severus,  belongs 
to  a  much  later  period,  probably  to  the  age  of  Diocletian.  It 
corresponded  to  the  6fx(paK6s  of  Greek  cities.  Ancient  documents 
place  it  close  to  the  Temple  of  Concord  and  to  the  church  of  SS. 
Sergius  and  Bacchus.  This  last  named  edifice  is  so  closely  con- 
nected with  the  topography  of  the  west  end  of  the  Forum  and  of 
the  Clivns  Capitolinus  that,  although  its  remains  have  long  since 
disappeared,  it  seems  necessary  to  have  it  briefly  described  here. 

XL.  The  Church  of  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus  was  the 
only  one  in  this  classic  district  which  did  not  occupy  the  site  of  an 
ancient  building,  but  stood  in  its  own  ground.  The  "  Liber  ponti- 
ficalis  "  mentions  it  for  the  first  time  in  731-741  at  the  time  of 
Gregoi-y  III.,  who  transformed  into  a  church  a  small  oratory 
already  existing  in  the  Volkanal.     Hadrian  I.  (772-795)  enlarged 

1  In  his  work  Le  Pinnte  di  Roma  anteriori  al  secolo  .rri.,  Commendatore  de 
Rossi  has  written  some  admirable  pages  on  the  Milliarium  Aureum,  and  the 
m.ensura  totius  orbis  which  it  represents  (eh.  iv.  pp.  25-34).  Consult  also 
Luigi  Canina,  Sul  valore  dell'  nntico  piede  romano,  Rome,  1853  ;  Heinrich 
Jordan,  Topor/raphie,  vol.  i2,  p.  244;  and  Ann.  Inst.,  1883,  p.  57;  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1892,  p.  95. 


THE    CHURCH   OF   SS.    SERGIUS   AND   BACCHUS      281 


and  improved  the  structure,  and  Innocent  III.  (1198-1216)  added 
the  front  portico  facing  the  Rostra.  The  exact  position  of  the 
church  appears  from  the  following  unpublished  sketch  by  Martin 
Heemskerk  (Fig.  107).  The  three  fluted  Corinthian  columns  in 
the  foreground  are  those  of  the  Temple  of  Vespasian.  According 
to  Armellini  (C'hiese,  p.  538)  the  bell-tower  stood  on  the  attic 
of  the  Arch  of  Severus ;  but  he  evidently  mistakes  it  for  another 
tower,  having  no  connection  with  the  church,  which  appears  in  du 
Perac's  third  vignette  on  the  opposite  corner  of  the  arch.  I  have 
discovered  in  the  report  of  the  sitting  of  the  city  council  of  Sep- 
tember 9,  1636,  what  was  the  end  of  this  tower.  This  sitting 
agreed  '•  that  the  tow'er 
on  the  Arch  of  Septimius 
be  pulled  down,  and  its 
materials  be  given  to  the 
church  of  Santa  ^larti- 
na,  which  is  in  com-se  of 
reconstruction." 

Paul  III.  began  demol- 
ishing the  church  of  SS. 
Sergius  and  Bacchus  on 
the  advent  of  Charles  V. 
(1536).  Some  of  its 
walls  appear  still  in  Do- 
sio's  twenty  -  first  vig- 
nette, dating  from  1569 ; 
the  last  traces  of  the 
apse  disappeared  in  1812. 

Between  the  Rostra  and 
the  Sacra  Via  stood  a 
beautiful  little  building, 
the  so-called  Schola  Xan- 
tha,  or  offices  of  the  scri- 
b(B  librarii  (book-keepers) 
and  pnecones  (heralds)  of  the  ^Ediles  Curules.  Its  construction  is 
attributed  by  Henzen  to  C.  Avillius  Licinius  Trosius,  a  contempo- 
rary of  Caracalla,  and  bj^  Huelsen  to  A.  Fabius  Xanthus  and  Be- 
bryx  Drusianus,  who  lived  in  the  first  century.  These  person- 
ages are  all  mentioned  in  inscriptions  discovered  on  the  spot  in 
1539.  (See  Corpus,  vi.  103.)  From  the  words  of  these  documents, 
and  from  the  account  of  the  excavations  left  by  Marliano  and 
Ligorio,  we  gather  that  the  Schola  was  built  of  solid  marble,  and 


Fig.  lo; 


-  The  Church  of  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus, 
sketched  by  Heemskerk. 


282  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

consisted  of  three  rooms  at  least,  with  a  portico  in  front  facing 
the  south ;  and  that  Fabius  Xanthus  and  his  associates  had  deco- 
rated it  with  bronze  seats,  a  statue  of  the  Victory,  seven  silver 
statues  of  the  gods,  etc.  The  edifice  and  its  inscriptions  were 
destroyed  and  the  marbles  turned  into  new  shapes.  I  believe, 
without  being  able  to  prove  it,  that  the  Schola  Xantha  formed 
the  west  side  of  the  Rostra,  the  otfice-room  of  the  scribes  being 
under  its  lofty  platform.  The  pedestal  of  the  statue  of  Stilicho 
(Corpus,  1730),  which  stood  in  7-osti-is,  was  discovered  at  the  same 
time  with  the  remains  of  the  Schola. 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  II  sitv  e  le  iscrizloni  della  Schola  Xan- 
tha, iu  Mittheilungen,  1888,  p.  208. 

XLI.  The  Arch  of  Tiberius  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus 
Capitolinus,  where  the  Vicus  Jugarius  diverges  from  the  Sacra 
Via,  between  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Basilica  Julia  and  the 
Milliarium.  It  was  erected  in  769  (16  a.  d.)  in  memory  of  the 
recovery  by  Germanicus  of  the  eagles  and  flags  which  had  been 
lost  with  the  legions  of  Varus  in  the  battle  of  Teutoburg. 

The  name  of  Germanicus,  so  dear  to  the  Romans,  must  have 
saved  the  arch  from  destruction,  after  the  death  and  the  memo7'i(K 
damnatia  of  Tiberius.  According  to  Montiroli,  many  fragments 
were  discovered  in  1848,  with  one  or  more  pieces  of  the  inscrip- 
tion, in  which  the  Elbe  and  the  Rhine  were  alluded  to,  and  the 
recovery  of  the  flags  was  mentioned.  These  pieces  now  lie  scat- 
tered all  over  the  Forum. 

Litp;katiti{e.  —  Olaus  Kellermann,  Bull.  Inst.,  IS^b,  p.  36.  —  Giovanni 
Montiroli,  Ilforo  romano.  Rome,  1852.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Re.<  i/esto' divi 
Auf/vsti,  ed.  1883,  p.  127.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Ephemerm  epijjr.,  1887,  p.  262. 

XLII.  The  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus  (XXXIII  in  plan) 
was  dedicated  to  him  and  to  his  sons  Caracalla  and  Geta,  a.  d. 
203,  in  recognition  of  the  benefits  they  had  conferred  on  the  com- 
monwealth by  reforming  the  administration  and  extending  the 
boundaries  of  the  Empire.  After  the  murder  of  Geta,  a.  d.  212, 
his  name  was  suppressed  in  the  inscriptions  on  either  face  of  the 
attic ;  but  the  holes  left  in  the  marble  by  the  clami^s  of  the  ori- 
ginal bronze  letters  give  us  the  means  of  reconstructing  the  original 
text ;  it  contained  the  words  (lin.  3)  et  (lin.  4)  Getce  nohilissbno 
ccesari,  which  were  substituted  by  the  acclamation  optimis  fortissi- 
misque  jmncipibus,  addressed  to  Severus  and  Caracalla  alone. 

The  arch  has  three  passages  connected  by  a  transverse  one. 
There  are  four  columns  of  the  composite  order  on  each  front,  on 


THE   ARCH   OF   SEPT  IM I  US    SEVER  US 


283 


the  pedestals  of  which  are  carved  groups  of  prisoners  of  war.  (See 
Fig.  108.)  On  the  spandriLs  of  the  side  archways  are  figures  of 
River  Gods,  on  those  of  the  middle  passage  Victories  with  tro- 
phies. The  panels  above  the  side  arches  are  covered  with  bas- 
reliefs  illustrating  the  campaigns  of  Severus  in  the  East.  The 
small  door  on  the  south  side  leads  to  a  set  of  rooms  in  the  attic, 
some  of  which  have  no  light. 

The  arch  was  erected  on  the  edge  of  the  platform  ( Volkanal  — 
area  CoTiconlicr),  which,  being  six  or  seven  feet  higher  than  the 
level  of  the  Forum  and  of  the  Comitium,  was  accessible  only  by 
means  of  steps.      The  roughly  paved  road  going  through  the  cen- 


Fig.  108.  —  Pedestals  of  Columns,  Arch  of  Severus. 


tral  arch  dates  from  the  fall  of  the  Empire.  Among  the  materials 
of  which  it  was  built,  Fea  discovered  in  1803  a  pedestal  of  an 
Imperial  statue  and  pieces  of  a  monumental  column.  No  part  of 
the  Forum  has  been  more  fi*equently  and  more  successfully  ex- 
cavated than  the  neighborhood  of  this  arch.  On  June  22,  1480, 
the  pedestal  of  the  Genius  of  Roman  armies  was  tound  apud 


284 


A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 


arcum.  In  August,  1539,  the  pedestals  of  two  statues  of  Stili- 
cho  were  discovered ;  in  1547-49  many  pedestals  were  unearthed 
coniinemorating  the  peace  restored  to  the  world  by  the  Flavian 
Emperors,  —  the  victory  of  the  Emperor  Julius  Constantius  over 
Magnentius,  a.  d.  353,  the  feats  of  Flavins  Valerius  Constantius 
Caesar,  etc. ;  and  in  1549  the  pedestals  of  the  equestrian  statues  of 
Arcadius  and  Ilonorius.  In  1774,  another  pedestal  of  a  statue 
of  Diocletian  was  foiind;  and  in  1803  another,  dedicated,  a.  d.  357, 
to  Jnlius  Constantius  by  Oriitus,  prefect  of  the  city,  the  latter 
being  probably  in  commemoration  of  the  raising  of  the  great 
obelisk  of  the  Circus  jNlaximus  (now  in  the  Lateran).  These 
historical  documents  are  marked  Nos.  196-200,  234,  1119,  1132, 
1158,  1161,  1162,  1174,  1187,  1203,  1204,  1205,  1730,  1731,  in  vol, 
vi.  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum." 


Fig.  109.  — A  Fruiterer's  Shop  under  the  Arch  of  Severus. 

Nos.  197,  199,  234,  1132,  1174,  1204  have  perished.  No.  1730  is 
to  be  found  in  the  Palazzo  Capranica  della  Valle ;  No.  1731  in 
the  Villa  Medici ;  Nos.  196,  198,  200,  in  the  Museo  Nazionale  at 
Naples.  No.  1158  was  removed  to  the  Farnese  gardens,  and 
brought  back  in  1875,  together  with  No.  1203.  Fragments  of  No. 
1187  are  dispersed  all  over  the  Fornm.  No.  1119  is  kejit  in  the 
Vatican  Museum  with  No.  1161.  No.  1162  is  broken  in  three 
pieces :  the  first  is  missing,  the  second  is  to  be  found  in  the  Vati- 
can, the  third  near  the  Arch  of  Severns ! 


S.   PETER'S   PRISON  285 

Many  pages  could  be  wi'itten  on  the  history  and  on  the  fate  of 
this  noble  monument  in  recent  times.  One  incident  shall  answer 
for  all.  The  arch,  being  the  property  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.,  was  put 
to  ransom  in  this  way.  The  two  side  passages  were  walled  in  at 
each  end,  and  turned  into  shops.  I  have  found  in  the  city  archives 
two  leases,  one  dated  May  1,  1721,  by  which  one  of  the  dens  is 
rented  to  Bonaventura  Rosa  for  four  scudi  and  eighty  baiocchi  a 
year ;  the  other  dated  January  30,  1751,  by  which  both  are  given 
up  to  Battista  Franchi  for  seven  scudi  and  twenty  baiocchi.  The 
last  occupant,  in  1803,  was  a  fruiterer.  This  odd  state  of  things 
is  represented  in  the  above  original  sketch  by  Gianni,  made  about 
1800  (Fig.  109). 

Literature.  —  Suarez,  Arcus  L.  Septiniii  Severi  anaglypha.  Rome,  1676. 
—  Antonio  Guattani,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  71.  —  Corpus  Jnscr.,  vol.  vl.  n.  103;j. 

XLIII.  The  Carcer  Tulliaxum  (S.  Peter's  Prison)  (XXXIV 
in  plan),  is  mentioned  by  Livy  as  having  been  built  by  Ancus 
Marcius  in  a  place  near  and  a  little  liigher  than  the  Forum :  carcer 
imminens  foro.  It  contained  an  underground  cell,  formerly  a  cave 
named  Tullianum,  from  a  tullus  or  jet  of  water  which  sprang 
from  the  rock.  It  was  used  as  a  place  of  execution,  and  Sallust 
depicts  it  as  a  dark,  filthy,  and  frightful  den,  twelve  feet  under- 
ground, walled  in  and  covered  with  massive  stone  walls.  The 
fa9ade  is  very  severe  in  style,  and  has  an  inscription  commemo- 
rating the  repair's  to  the  prison,  made  at  the  time  of  Tiberius  by 
C.  Vibius  Rufinus  and  M.  Cocceius  Nerva.  (See  Corpus  Inscr., 
vol.  vi.  n.  1.539.)  Nichols  justly  remarks  that  "the  Carcer  plays 
a  part  in  Roman  history  like  that  of  the  Tower  of  London  in 
English.  The  TuUianum  was,  if  one  may  say  so,  a  Secret  Tower 
Hill.  One  of  the  first  heroes  of  the  long  tale  of  miseries  is  Plemi- 
nius,  who,  being  detained  in  prison  for  his  excesses  at  Locri,  was 
convicted  of  bribing  men  to  set  fire  to  the  city,  lowered  into  the 
Tullianum,  and  executed.  The  same  fate  befell  Lentulus,  Ceth- 
egus,  and  several  other  conspirators  during  the  Catilinarian  trou- 
bles. Cicero,  who  played  such  a  leading  part  in  them,  speaks  of 
the  Carcer  as  having  been  ordained  by  the  kings  as  the  avenger 
of  heinous  and  notorious  crimes.  The  jail  is  also  associated  with 
the  name  of  King  Jugurtha,  starved  to  death  in  the  lower  hole. 
The  body  of  Seianus,  the  disgraced  minister  of  Tiberius,  was  cast 
on  the  Scalse  Gemoniae  (steps  adjoining  the  prison),  and  also  those 
of  his  innocent  children,  whose  execution  was  marked  by  circum- 
stances of  fria;htful  atrocitv.     Here  also  the  headless  trunk  of 


286  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE    SACRA    VTA 

Flavins  Sabinus,  brother  of  Vespasian,  was  thrown  by  the  soldiers 
of  Vitelliiis,  and  soon  after  Vitellius  himself  met  his  end  on  the 
same  spot.  The  Career,"  Nichols  concludes,  "like  the  Tower, 
had  also  its  literary  reminiscences.  Nsevius  is  said  to  have  writ- 
ten two  of  his  plays  while  confined  in  prison  for  his  attacks  on 
the  aristocracy."  ^ 

The  bibliography  on  the  Career  is  given  by  Cancellieri,  "  Notizie 
del  Carcere  TuUiano."     Rome,  1788,  pp.  6,  7. 

XLIV.  tEdes  Concordia:  ('Ojuoroeroj/,  Temple  of  Concord), 
(XXXV  in  plan).  —  The  approval  of  the  Licinian  laws  in  367 
15.  c.  was  a  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  because 
tlie  alliance  between  patricians  and  plebeians,  by  restoring  peace 
and  tranquillity  at  home,  allowed  the  government  to  turn  its  at- 
tention to  foreign  affairs.  The  laws,  however,  did  not  pass  with- 
out a  struggle.  During  a  particulai'ly  violent  fight  in  the  Forum, 
C'amillus  promised  to  erect  a  temple  to  Concord,  as  soon  as  peace 
should  be  restored ;  and  he  kept  his  word  in  367.  The  temple, 
a  simple  and  graceful  structure  of  stone,  wood,  and  painted  terra- 
cotta, was  raised  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  between 
the  Temple  of  Saturn  and  the  prison.  In  b.  c.  121,  after  the 
death  of  C.  Gracchus,  the  Senate  commissioned  L.  Opimius  with 
the  reconstruction  of  the  temple,  to  the  great  distress  of  the  ple- 
beians, who  could  not  tolerate  the  idea  that  a  monument  com- 
memorating a  popular  victory  should  be  made  to  represent  the 
triumph  of  aristocracy,  and  so  the  original  inscription  was 
changed  one  night  into  the  words  :  "  Discord  raises  this  temple  to 
Concord."  The  edifice,  scanty  fragments  of  which  have  come 
down  to  as,  dates  from  a.  d.  10,  when  Tiberius  reconstructed  it 
for  the  second  time,  and  dedicated  it  on  January  16  under  the 
title  of  Concordia  Augusta.  Designed  and  executed  by  the  clever- 
est masters  of  the  golden  age,  entirely  built  of  white  marble,  pro- 
fusely enriched  with  masterpieces  of  the  Greek  school,  the  Temple 
of  Concord  was  one  of  the  finest  monuments  in  the  valley  of  the 
Forum,  and  one  of  the  richest  museums  of  Rome.  The  cella  con- 
tained one  central  and  ten  side  niches,  in  which  were  placed  the 
Apollo  and  Hera  by  Baton;  Latona  nursing  Apollo  and  Diana 
by  Euphranor;  Asklepios  and  Hygieia  by  Nikeratos;   Ares  and 

1  On  the  connection  of  this  historical  monument  with  S.  Peter,  consult  Der 
mamc'7-tinische  Kerker  u.  die  romischen  Traditionen  vom  Gefdngnhse  und  den 
Ketten  Petri,  an  excellent  paper  published  by  H.  Grisar,  S.  J.,  in  the  Zeit- 
schriftfiir  kath.  Theologie,  1896,  p.  102. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   CONCORD  287 

Hermes  by  Piston  ;  and  Zeus,  Athena,  and  Demeter  by  Sthenics. 
Pliny  speaks  also  of  a  picture  by  Theodores  representing  Cassan- 
dra; of  another  by  Zeuxis  which  portrayed  Marsyas  bound  to  the 
tree ;  of  a  third,  Bacchus,  by  Nikias ;  of  four  elephants  cut  in 
obsidian,  a  miracle  of  skill  and  labor;  and  of  a  collection  of 
precious  stones.  Among  these  was  the  sardonyx  set  in  the 
legendary  ring  of  Polykrates  of  Sanios.  I  may  mention  in  the 
last  place  the  statue  of  Ilestia,  which  Tiberius  had  taken  away 
almost  by  force  from  the  inhabitants  of  Paros. 

Like  that  of  Castor,  the  Temple  of  Concord  played  an  im- 
portant i^art  in  Roman  political  life,  and  was  used  very  often  by 
the  Senate  as  a  meeting-place  on  extraordinary  occasions.  Cicero 
delivered  in  it  his  fourth  oration  against  Catiline,  denouncing  the 
conspiracy  and  the  names  of  those  concerned  in  it.  Other  meet- 
ings are  recorded  in  Imperial  times,  under  Severus,  Alexander, 
and  Probus.  The  open  space  in  front  of  the  temple,  originally 
called  Volkanal,  and  later  on  Area  Concordia;,  is  mentioned  sev- 
eral times  in  connection  with  the  "  showers  of  blood."  These 
were  rain  mixed  with  reddish  sand  from  the  deserts  of  Libya,  a 
phenomenon  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Rome,  for  T  have  myself 
observed  it  on  three  occasions. 

The  fate  of  the  building  after  the  barbaric  invasions  is  not 
known.  The  Anonyinus  of  Einsiedlen  saw  (?)  it  almost  perfect 
in  the  eighth  century,  and  copied  the  inscription  of  the  pronaos, 
which  alludes  to  the  restoration  made  by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  after  the 
fire  of  Carinus.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  89  and  938.)  The 
"  Liber  Pontificalis "  speaks  of  it  as  threatening  to  collapse  at 
the  time  of  Hadrian  I.  (772-795).  When  Poggio  Bracciolini 
visited  Rome  the  first  time  about  1405,  the  portico  was  still  stand- 
ing, but  he  saw  it  himself,  soon  after,  fall  to  the  ground,  and  its 
beautiful  marbles  were  broken  and  thrown  into  the  lime-kiln. 

The  excavations  of  the  site  of  the  temple  began  on  May  2,  1817. 
The  fragments  of  decorative  marbles  found  within  the  cella  are 
described  by  contemporary  witnesses  as  '*the  most  delicate,  the 
most  perfect  productions  of  ancient  art."  These  fragments  are 
exhibited  in  the  portico  of  the  Tabularium,  where  dampness  and 
saltpetre  corrode  their  surface,  and  will  soon  reduce  them  to  dust ; 
two  bases  of  the  side  shrines  are  in  the  ground  floor  of  the  Museo 
Capitolino ;  two  capitals,  with  lambs  in  the  place  of  volutes,  are 
in  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatory  Nibby  says  that  at  the  time  of 
the  discovei-y  half  the  pavement  was  perfect ;  but  its  slabs  of 
africano,  giallo,  and  pavonazzetto  were  afterward  stolen  one  by  one 


288  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

by  stone-cutters,  and  probably  made  into  paper-weights  and  other 
such  marketable  articles.  The  threshold  of  the  cella,  one  of  the 
few  pieces  left  on  the  spot,  has  the  mark  of  the  caduceus  engraved 
near  the  left  end. 

Literature.  —  Co?y)Ms  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  89-94.  —  Ulrichs,  Codex  topogr., 
pp.  220,  238.  —  Stefano  Piale,  Degli  antichi  templl  di  Vespasiano  e  della  Con- 
cordia.    Rome,  (1818)  1834.  —  Carlo  Fea,   Varieta  di  Notizie,  pp.  93-95. 

XLV.  The  Clivus  Capitolinus  (XXXVI  in  plan).  —  The 
end  of  the  Sacra  Via  which  ascended  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cap- 
itoline  hill  in  zigzags  was  called  the  Clivus  Capitolinus.  Its  pave- 
ment has  been  laid  bare  in  the  lower  tract  before  and  between  the 
temples  of  Vespasian,  of  Saturn,  and  the  Porticus  Deorum  Con- 
sentium,  as  represented  in  the  illustration  (Fig.  119) ;  but  its  upper 
course  is  as  yet  a  matter  of  speculation.  It  probably  rounded  the 
Porticus  Consentium  and  emerged  on  the  Area  Capitolina,  skirt- 
ing the  south  side  of  the  Tabularium,  as  marked  (XXXVI)  in 
the  plan. 

At  the  foot  of  the  pronaos  of  Saturn  are  the  only  existing  re- 
mains of  a  Roman  street  pavement  of  classic  times.  They  owe 
their  preservation  to  the  fact  of  having  been  covered  by  the  steps  of 
the  temple  in  one  of  the  later  reconstructions.  The  reader  hardly 
needs  to  be  reminded  that  all  the  otlier  pavements  that  go  by  the 
name  of  "  ancient  streets  "  are  a  patchwork  of  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries  after  Christ. 

XLVI.  Temple  of  Vespasian  (XXXVII  in  plan ;  Figs.  106 
and  110),  erected  under  Doniitian  in  memory  of  his  deified  father 
(and  brother).  —  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  three  columns,  stand- 
ing on  a  lofty  platform  between  the  Temple  of  Concord  and  the 
Porticus  Consentium,  belong  to  this  temple,  because  the  dedicatory 
inscription,  copied  by  the  so-called  Anonymus  of  Einsiedlen  when 
still  intact,  ends  precisely  with  the  eight  letters  estitver  which 
we  see  engraved  in  the  existing  fragment. 

diro  •  uespasiano  •  augusto  •  s  •  p  •  q  •  r 
impp  •  ccess  •  seuerus  •  et  ■  antoninus  •  pit  •  felic  •  augg  •  rESTiTVER 

Of  this  very  elegant  edifice  only  the  platform,  the  altar,  and  the 
three  corner  columns  of  the  pronaos  are  left  standing.  The  frieze 
is  decorated  with  the  instruments  of  sacrifice  —  the  "  albogalerus," 
the  "  aspergillus,"  the  "  urceus,"  the  knife,  the  "  patera,"  the  axe 
—  in  bold  relief  and  in  the  purest  style  of  art  (Fig.  111).  The 
cornice  is  remarkable  for  the  tiny  rings  interposed  to  the  dentels ; 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    VESPASIAN 


289 


it  is  a  characteristic  of  ornamental  work  of  the  time  of  Domitian, 
which  occurs  also  in  the  cornices  of  the  Flavian  Palace,  of  the 
Forum  Transitorium,  of  the  Albanum,  of  the  Serapaeum,  of  the 
Horti  Largiaui  —  buildings  erected  or  restored  by  the  same  Em- 
peror. 


290 


A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 


When  the  excavations  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  were  begun  in 
1810,  it  was  observed  not  only  that  the  three  coUimns  were  falling 
out  of  the  perpendicular  by  over  two  feet  in  the  direction  of  the 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   SATURN  291 

Foi'um,  but  that  their  foundations  liad  been  uprooted  in  the  ex- 
cavations of  the  cinquecento.  The  ai'chitects  Valadier  and  Campo- 
rese,  after  measuring  and  sketching  the  ruin  stone  by  stone,  took 
it  down,  rebuilt  the  foundations,  and  set  it  up  straight  again.  The 
accumulation  of  rubbish,  which  reached  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
shafts,  was  then  removed,  and  the  expectant  public  could  see  out- 
lined against  the  sky  those  capitals  and  that  frieze  which,  only  a 
few  months  before,  had  been  trodden  by  the  feet  of  tourists.  This 
clever  operation  is  described  in  Tournon's  '•  Etudes  statistiques  sur 
Kome,"  vol.  ii.  p.  266,  pi.  21. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  sti'eet  stands  a  nearly  perfect  Ionic 
hexastyle  portico,  which  topographers  agree  in  attributing  to  the 

XLVII.  .EuKS  Satukxi  (Temple  of  Saturn)  (XXXVIII 
in  plan  ;  Fig.  110).  —  According  to  an  old  h-adition  the  Greek 
followers  of  Hercules  had  raised  an  altar  to  Saturn  in  the  "  jaws," 
or  "  at  the  foot "  of  the  hill  which  bore  his  name  (Collis  Satur- 
nius),  and  which  was  inhabited,  even  before  the  Trojan  war,  by  a 
colony  of  men  called  Saturnii.  The  tradition  was  founded  on  the 
fact  that,  in  much  later  times,  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  god  in 
the  Greek  rite,  the  worshipers  being  allowed  to  keep  their  heads 
unveiled.  A  temple  was  substituted  for  the  altar  in  497  b.  c., 
and  dedicated  on  the  day  of  the  Saturnalia,  December  17.  Lucius 
Munatius  Plancus  rebuilt  it  at  the  request  of  his  friend  Augustus 
in  42  B.  c,  the  money  being  taken  from  the  spoils  of  the  Rhaetic 
war. 

The  fire  of  Carinus  must  have  damaged  the  structure,  as  shown 
by  the  inscription  sexatvs  popvlvsqve  romanvs  incendio  cox- 
SVMPTVM  RESTiTviT  eugraved  on  the  architrave  of  the  pronaos, 
and  by  the  patchwork  style  of  the  pronaos  itself,  w^hich  betrays 
an  utter  decadence  of  taste  and  a  great  poverty  of  means.  The 
columns  on  the  front  are  of  gray  granite,  those  at  the  sides  of 
red,  and  made  up  of  several  pieces  ;  some  of  the  bases  are  Attic, 
others  Corinthian,  and  without  plinth.  It  has  been  asked  why 
the  name  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  should  appear  on  the  architrave  of 
the  temple  instead  of  the  name  of  an  Emperor.  The  reason  is 
evident :  the  temjile  was  rebuilt  in  the  fourth  century,  when  Chris- 
tianity had  become,  if  not  the  religion  of  the  State,  certainly  the 
personal  religion  of  the  Emperors  ;  and  it  would  not  have  become 
a  Christian  Emperor  to  see  his  name  associated  with  the  restora- 
tion of  heathen  temples.  I  believe,  moreover,  that  the  restoration 
by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  was  undertaken  not  from  a  religious  point  of 


292  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

view,  but  as  a  necessity  of  public  administration,  because  the 
temple  had  been  used,  since  the  time  of  Valerius  Publicola,  as 
the  civil  treasury  —  ^rarium  Saturni,  —  as  that  of  the  temple  of 
Concord  was  used  for  military  purposes.  The  ^rarium  Saturni 
was  divided  into  two  sections  :  one  for  current  business,  one  as 
a  reserve  fund  (iErarium  sanctius).  Appeal  was  made  to  this 
last  in  211  during  the  second  Punic  war,  and  again  in  49  b.  c,  on 
the  approach  of  Julius  Csesar  to  Rome.  There  were  correspond- 
ing strong  rooms  under  the  cella,  but  no  attempt  has  ever  been 
made  to  discover  them.  The  vErarium  contained  also  the  archives 
of  the  quaestors,  in  which,  among  other  records,  the  sentences  of 
death  were  deposited. 

A  small  square  opened  behind  the  temple,  called  Area  Satvirni. 
It  contained  a  celebrated  altar,  raised  to  Ops  and  Ceres  on  August 
10,  A.  D.  7,  while  the  peninsula  was  suffering  from  a  famine  of  un- 
precedented severity. 

The  lofty  platform  on  which  the  temple  stands  was  reached 
from  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  l)y  means  of  a  long  flight  of  stairs, 
designed  in  fragment  iii.  22,  23  of  the  marble  plan  of  Rome. 

Literature.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Res  gestce,  2d  ed.  iv.  12,  13.  —  F.  M. 
Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum,  p.  23.  —  H.  Jordan,  Ephemeris  epigraphica,  vol. 
iii.  p.  55. —  Orazio  Marucchi,  Le.  forum  romani,  p.  139.—  Thedenat,  in  Darem- 
berg  and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1285. 

XL VIII.  PoRTicus  Deorum  Consentium  (Portico  of  the 
Twelve  Gods)  (XXXIX  in  plan;  Fig.  112).  —  At  the  highest 
point  of  the  ascent,  and  under  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Tabu- 
larium,  there  is  a  line  of  cells  built  partly  against  the  cliff,  partly 
against  the  retaining  wall  of  the  Clivus,  the  front  of  which  is 
decorated  with  a  portico  of  the  Corinthian  order.  It  was  rebuilt 
in  A.  D.  367  by  Vettius  Agorius  Praetextatus,  on  the  site  of  a  much 
earlier  shrine  of  the  twelve  deities,  whose  gilded  images,  six  of 
gods  and  six  of  goddesses,  are  mentioned  by  Varro  as  existing  in 
the  Forum  at  a  very  remote  age.  The  inscription  on  the  archi- 
trave discovered  in  the  excavations  of  1834  and  the  remains  of 
the  colonnade  were  set  up  in  1853  by  Canina.  "  Agorius  Prsetex- 
tatus  is  known  as  one  of  the  most  obstinate  upholders  of  pagan- 
ism, already  dying  out.  He  persecuted  the  Christians  whenever  he 
could  do  so  without  incurring  the  penalties  of  law ;  restored  the 
abandoned  and  half-ruined  temples ;  and,  when  Pope  Damasus  re- 
monstrated with  him  for  his  cruel  and  illegal  behavior,  answered, 
'  Make  me  Bishop  of  Rome  and  I  shall  at  once  become  a  good 
Christian.'  " 


THE    TABU  LABIUM  293 

Remains  of  his  gardens  on  the  Esquiline  were  discovered  in 
1873-74  near  the  Piazza  Manfredo  Fanti.  The  palace  connected 
with  the  gardens  had  already  been  discovered  in  1591  in  the 
grounds  of  Federigo  Cesi,  near  the  Arch  of  Gallienus.     It  con- 


Fig.  112.  —The  Porticus  Consentium. 

tained,  like  the  gardens,  a  valuable  set  of  works  of  art,  among 
which  was  the  statue  of  Coelia  Concordia,  a  Vestalis  Maxima,  so 
perfectly  preserved  that  even  the  insignia  of  her  order,  of  gilded 
metal,  remained  fastened  around  her  neck. 

Literature.  —  Olaus  Kellerniann,  in  Bull.  Inst.,  1835,  p.  34.  —  Luigi 
Grid,  At ti  accad.  jwntif.  archeoL,  vol.  xiv.  p.  118.  — Adolf  Becker,  Topo- 
graphie,  p.  318.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciaiii,  Bull,  com.,  1874,  p.  83;  and  Ancient 
Rome,  p.  169.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  102. 

XLIX.  Tabularium  (XL  in  plan).  —  This  is  an  immense  and 
well-preserved  building,  on  the  slope  of  the  Capitoline  facing 
the  Forum,  destined  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  deeds  of  public 
interest,  among  which  were  the  decrees  of  the  Senate  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  Kings,  the  plebiscites,  the  treaties  of  peace 
and  alliance,  and  so  forth.  Bunsen  calls  the  Tabularium  "le 
seul  edifice  grand  qui  nous  reste  de  la  Republique,  le  seul  edifice 
d'Etat  de  la  Rome  ancienne;"  Emil  Braun,  likewise,  "a  grand 
edifice,  one  of  the  most  considerable  of  the  brightest  epoch  of  the 


294  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

Republic,  .  .  .  which  desei'ves  our  fullest  admiration  ;  "  and  yet  it 
is  one  of  the  least  visited  monuments  in  Rome. 

The  Tabularium  is  probably  the  work  of  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus, 
to  whom  the  task  of  rebuilding  the  Capitol  after  the  fire  of  88  b.  c. 
had  been  intrusted  by  a  decree  of  the  Senate  in  78  b.  c.  There 
are  two  inscriptions  commemorating  his  work :  one  seen  by  Poggio 
Bracciolini  about  1530,  which  expressly  mentions  svhstrvctionem 
ct  tahvlarivm ;  the  other  discovered  by  Canina  in  1845,  which  has 
been  set  into  the  wall  of  the  Tabularium  itself  on  the  north  side. 
This  last  contains  only  the  general  expression  de  sK^atus  sKtirenlia 
FACiVNDvm  (tabularium?)  coeravit.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p. 
170,  n.  391,  392.) 

The  area  of  the  building  corresponds  almost  exactly  with  that 
of  the  Palazzo  del  Senatore,  the  official  residence  of  the  Roman 
municipal  administration.  The  walls  of  the  palace  rest  on  the 
ancient  ones  on  the  north,  east,  and  south  sides,  as  any  one  can 
see;  but  I  have  discovered  a  document  which  proves  tliat  the 
west  side,  viz.,  the  fa(,'ade  of  the  palace  towards  the  Piazza  del 
Campidogiio,  is  likewise  built  upon  ancient  foundations.  In  p. 
88  of  the  Bodleian  MSS.  Pirro  Ligorio  asserts  that  a  beautiful 
"  basamento  di  sasso  tiburtiuo  di  bella  e  vaga  modanatura  "  runs 
under  the  pedestals  of  the  two  River  Gods  on  either  side  of  the 
fountain,  and  gives  a  good  outline  of  it.  He  also  tells  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  story  about  the  fate  of  the  two  River  Gods.  They 
had  formed  part  of  the  mediseval  museum  of  statuary  on  the 
Piazza  di  Montecavallo,  which  comprised  the  two  colossal  groups 
of  Castor  and  Pollux,  two  statues  of  Constantine,  one  of  Cybele, 
and  the  two  reclining  figures  of  the  Nile  and  the  Tigris,  known 
by  the  name  of  Saturn  and  Bacchus.^  When  the  River  Gods 
were  removed  to  the  Capitol  for  the  decoration  of  the  Palazzo 
del  Senatore,  an  influential  person  (tin  malo  consigliere)  suggested 
that  the  Tigris  should  be  transformed  into  a  Tiber.  The  sug- 
gestion was  adopted ;  the  head  of  the  tiger  was  changed  into  that 
of  a  wolf,  and  the  two  sucking  infants  were  added  to  the  group. 
Ligorio  says  that  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  of  one  of  the  twins 
were  originally  part  of  the  hair  of  the  tiger. 

LiTEKATURE.  —  Giovaniii  Aziirri,  Descrlzione  delV  areata  dorica  dell'  an- 
tico  Tabulario.  Rome,  1839.  —  Beschreibung  d.  Stadt  Rom,  vol.  iii.  p.  40. — 
Luigi  Canina,  Monumenti  dell'  Istituto,  vol.  v.  pi.  31.  —  Charles  Bunsen, 
Les  forums,   p.  286. —  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  Museums,  p.  14. —  Theodor 

1  See  Michaelis,  Le  antichita  della  citta  di  Roma,  descritte  da  Nicolao 
Muffel,  in  Mittheil.,  1888,  p.  271,  n.  23,  24. 


THE    TABULARIU.U  295 

Momm>eii,  Annul.  Inst.,  1858,  p.  211;  and  Bull,  hist.,  IS-l.'),  p.  119,  —  Heiurkh 
Jordan,  //  tabulario  capiloUno  (in  Aunal.  Inst.,  1881,  p.  60). 

The  Tabularium  com2:)rises  a  substructure  built  of  gabinian 
stone,  an  underground  tloor,  wliich  luis  long  been  used  for  a  city 
jail,  and  an  upper  portico  of  the  Doric  order,  with  many  halls, 
passages,  corridors,  and  staircases,  all  in  perfect  preservation.  The 
halls  were  used,  as  has  been  said,  for  state  documents,  engraved 
on  bronze  tablets,  ''  tabulae  seneaj,"  from  which  the  building  was 


Fig.  li;;.  —  OM  (iatc  of  Tabularium  blocked  l.y  T.-mpl.-  of  W-spasian. 

named.  Three  thousand  tablets,  called  by  Suetonius  "  instru- 
mentum  im])erii  pulcherrimum  ac  vetustissimum,"  perished  in  the 
fire  of  Yitellius.  Vespasian  restored  the  set  by  means  of  dupli- 
cates kept  in  other  archives. 


296  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE    SACRA    VIA 

The  Tabularium  was  accessible  directly  from  the  Clivus  Capito- 
liiiLis  and  from  the  iErarium  Saturui,  by  means  of  a  staircase  of 
sixty-seven  steps,  the  preservation  of  which  is  truly  wonderful. 
The  entrance  to  it  was  blocked  at  the  time  of  Domitian,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  erection  of  the  Temple  of  Vespasian,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  113. 

Nibby  asserts  that  the  many  fragments  of  columns  and  capitals 
of  travertine  (of  the  Corinthian  order)  discovered  at  the  foot  of 
the  substructure,  and  now  piled  up  in  front  of  the  Portico  of  tlie 
Consentes,  belong  to  a  second  or  upper  arcade  of  the  Tabularium. 
His  opinion  is  corroborated  by  documents  of  the  time  of  Anacletus 
11.  and  Innocent  III.,  which  mention  two  Camellarige,  the  lower 
and  the  upper,  "  Camellaria  "  being  then  the  denomination  of  the 
Tabularium ;  and  by  Poggio  Bracciolini,  who  saw  in  it  fornices 
(luplici  ordine,  a  double  tier  of  arcades. 

L.  Capitolium  (Temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus)  (XLI 
in  plan).  —  This  national  sanctuary  of  ancient  Rome,  designed  by 
the  elder  Tarquin  and  built  by  his  son  Superbus,  was  dedicated 
by  M.  Hoi'atius  Pulvillus,  consul,  on  September  13,  509  b.  c. 
Writers  describe  it  as  raised  on  a  platform  61.62  metres  long, 
and  57.17  wide,  in  the  middle  of  a  sacred  area,  which  was  bounded 
on  three  sides  by  precipitous  cliffs.  There  were  three  rows  of 
columns  on  the  front  of  the  temple,  but  none  at  the  back;  the 
style  of  architecture  was  pure  Etruscan,  low  and  heavy,  with 
intercolumniation  so  wide  (areostyle)  as  to  require  the  use  of 
wooden  architraves.  The  •  cella  was  divided  into  three  compart- 
ments, the  middle  one  sacred  to  Jupiter,  the  one  on  the  left  to 
Juno  Kegina,  the  one  on  the  right  to  Minerva.  The  pediment 
was  crowned  by  a  quadriga  of  terra-cotta,  in  the  manner  of  an 
acroterium ;  and  the  statue  of  the  Father  of  the  Gods  was  of  the 
same  material.  It  was  the  w^ork  of  Turianus  of  Fregena),  who 
had  painted  the  face  of  the  god  in  vermilion,  and  dressed  his 
body  with  the  tunica  palmata  and  the  toga  picta.  Considering 
that  the  wooden  architraves  must  have  been  covered  likewise  with 
panels  of  painted  terra  cotta,  the  roof  lined  with  antefixse,  etc., 
we  may  assume  that  the  old  Capitolium  did  not  differ  from  the 
contemporary  temples  of  southern  Etruria,  a  splendid  specimen 
of  which,  discovered  at  Faleria,  is  now  exhibited  in  the  Villa 
Giulia  outside  the  Porta  del  Popolo. 

In  386  B.  c.  the  rugged  and  uneven  surface  of  the  hill  around 
the  temple  was  made  level  by  means  of  gigantic  substructures, 


THE    CAPITOLIUM  297 

which  rose  from  the  level  of  the  plain  to  that  of  the  temple  itself, 
a  work  called  "  insane  "  by  Pliny,  and  classed  by  Livy  among  the 
wonders  of  Rome.  The  Capitolium  was  only  accessible  from  the 
side  of  the  clivus  by  means  of  stately  stairs,  a  kind  of  "scala 
santa,"  which  Csesar  and  Claudius  ascended  on  their  knees. 

On  July  6,  83  b.  c,  a  malefactor,  whose  name  was  never  dis- 
covered, set  the  buUding  ablaze.  Sulla  undertook  its  reconstruc- 
tion, for  which  purpose  he  laid  his  hands  on  some  of  the  columns 
of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  the  Olympian  at  Athens.  Sulla's  work 
was  continued  by  Lutatius  Catulus  (the  builder  of  the  Tabula- 
rium),  and  finished  by  Julius  C«sar  in  46.  A  second  restoration 
took  place  in  the  year  9  b.  c.  under  Augustus,  a  third  in  74  a.  d. 
under  Vespasian,  and  the  last  in  the  year  82  under  Domitian. 
Domitian's  temple  was  of  the  same  length  and  width  as  its  pre- 
decessors, but  higher  and  more  svelte.  It  had  Corinthian  columns 
of  pentelic  marble. 

For  many  generations  topographers  have  discussed  which  of  the 
two  summits  of  the  Capitoline  hill  was  occupied  by  the  temple, 
which  by  the  citadel.  A  discovery  made  on  Kovember  7,  1875, 
gave  me  the  first  clue  to  the  solution  of  the  difficulty.  While 
building  the  foundations  of  the  new  rotunda  in  the  garden  of  the 
Palazzo  dei  Conservatori  (where  the  works  of  art  dug  up  on  the 
Esquiline  are  now  exhiliited),  we  discovered  the  edge  of  the  plat- 
form built  by  the  Tarquins,  and  upon  it  a  fragment  of  one  of  the 
columns  of  pentelic  marble  pertaining  to  the  last  restoration  of 
Domitian.  Such  a  find,  taken  by  itself,  would  not  have  been  con- 
clusive ;  but  compared  with  others  made  in  the  course  of  the  last 
four  centuries,  it  proves  beyond  doubt  that  the  Capitolium  stood 
ou  the  summit  of  ]Monte  Caprino,  and  consequently  that  the  Arx 
and  the  Tarpeian  rock  must  be  placed  on  the  Aracceli  side. 

First  as  to  the  insame  substriirtiones  which  supported  the  sacred 
area.  They  have  been  seen  and  described  by  Flaminio  Vacca  on 
the  side  of  the  Piazza  della  Consolazione,  by  Sante  Bartoli  on  the 
side  of  the  Piazza  ]Montanara,  by  Ficoroni  on  the  side  of  the  Via 
di  Torre  de'  Specchi.  their  thickness  exceeding  five  metres.  The 
travertine  facing  of  these  walls  w^as  covered  with  inscriptions  and 
dedications  in  honor  of  the  great  Roman  god  by  the  kings  and  the 
nations  of  the  world.  One  cannot  read  these  historical  documents, 
these  messages  of  friendship  and  gratitude  from  the  remotest  corner 
of  the  earth,  without  acqiiiring  a  new  sense  of  the  magnitude  and 
power  of  Rome.i  These  dedications  are  found  only  on  the  side  of 
the  Moute  Caprino. 

1  See  Bull,  com.,  1886,  p.  403 ;  1887,  pp.  14,  124,  251 ;  1888,  p.  138 ;  1890,  p.  57.  — 


298  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACRA    VIA 

The  platform  of  the  Tarquins,  built  of  small  grayish  blocks  of 
tufa  lamellare,  without  cement,  exists  still  in  tolerable  preserva- 
tion under  the  garden  and  palace  (Caft'arelli)  of  the  German  Em- 
bassy. A  sketch  in  Fabretti's  ''De  Columna  traiana"  shows  tliat 
when  the  Caffarellis  enlarged  their  palace  on  the  Monte  Caprino, 
about  1680,  fourteen  tiers  of  stone  at  least  were  removed.  The 
following  illustration  shows  the  only  portion  now  left  visible  of 
this  great  platform  (Fig.  ll-l).  It  lies  under  the  partition  wall  be- 
tween the  Caffarelli  garden  and  that  of  the  Palazzo  dei  Conser- 
vatory 

Borings  made  all  over  the  Monte  Caprino  in  1876  by  Jordan 


H^Lhl,  ~  il                   ':     >  ,4f??^ 

7M 

P^Ql^^^ 

f  "^  \t^^  ""^  i! 

BJJhjl^^^                    ,       .;^^^^ 

^■^^^ 

^^^^^HHIkMik. . 

, ,., ..  i 

Fig.  114.  —  Remains  of  the  Platform  of  the  Capitolium  in  the  Garden  of  the  Caffarelli 

Palace. 

and  Schuj^mann  have  enabled  us  to  trace  three  out  of  four  sides 
of  the  parallelogram,  as  well  as  the  size  and  direction  of  one  of 
the  favissce. 

The  temple  rebuilt  \i\  Domitian  was  plundered  in  June,  4.55,  by 
the  Vandals  of  Genseric,  who  carried  off  the  statues  to  adorn  his 

Momm.«en,  Zeitschrift  fur  Numismatik,  xv.  p.  207.  —  Corpus  Inscrip.,  vol.  i. 
p.  169. 


THE    CAPITOLIUM  299 

African  residence.  Froni  that  time  the  temple,  stripped  of  its 
roof  of  gilt  bronze  tiles,  fell  into  ruin,  and  became,  like  so  many 
others,  a  stone  quarry  and  a  lime-kiln.  In  January,  1545,  Giovan 
Pietro  Caffarelli  discovered  the  first  relics  in  the  garden  behind 
the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori.  Some  of  the  pieces  were  sketched 
and  measured  by  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  younger,  and  the  whole 
find  is  described  as  follows  by  Flaminio  Yacca  :  "  Upon  the  Tar- 
peian  rock  (Monte  Caprino)  several  pillars  of  peutelic  marble  were 
found,  with  capitals  of  such  size  that  I  was  able  to  carve  out  of 
one  of  them  the  great  lion  now  in  the  garden  of  Grand  Duke 
Ferdinand  of  Tuscany  by  the  Trinita  de'  Monti  (Villa  Medici). 
The  rest  of  the  marbles  were  used  by  Vincenzo  de  Rossi  to  carve 
the  Prophets  and  other  statues  of  the  chapel  of  Cardinal  Federico 
Cesi  at  S.  ^Slaria  della  Pace.  ...  No  fragments  of  the  entablature 
were  found,  but  as  the  building  was  so  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  I  fancy  they  must  have  fallen  into  the  plain  below." 
The  surmise  was  proved  correct  by  subsequent  discoveries.  In 
1780  great  pieces  of  cornice  and  frieze,  ornamented  with  bucranii 
and  festoons,  were  dug  up  from  the  foundations  of  the  house 
Xo.  13  Via  ]Montanara  at  the  foot  of  the  rock ;  other  fragments  in 
May,  1875,  under  the  house  Xo.  83  Via  della  Consolazione.  The 
dedications  by  foreign  kings  and  nations,  mentioned  above,  have 
also  rolled  down  the  hill  towards  the  Piazza  della  Consolazione, 
where  they  were  discovered  in  1887  under  the  Casa  Moroni.  An- 
other piece  of  a  fluted  column  of  pentelic  marble  was  discovered 
on  January  24,  1889,  on  the  slope  towards  the  TuUianum  (S.  Pietro 
in  Carcere),  where  it  had  been  dragged  and  abandoned  by  a  cinque- 
ceiito  stone-cutter. 

A  careful  examination  made  in  1S75  by  the  late  Padre  Luigi 
Bruzza  proves  that  the  statues  of  the  Cappella  Cesi  are  really  sculp- 
tured in  pentelic,  and  so  is  Flaminio  Vacca's  lion,  in  the  Villa  Me- 
dici. The  piece  of  a  column  discovered  in  Xovember,  1875,  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  small  garden  of  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori ;  the  one 
discovered  in  January,  1889.  in  the  Via  di  S.  Pietro  in  Carcere  has 
been  buried  over  in  the  same  place.  The  platform  of  the  temple 
discovered  in  1865  in  the  garden  of  the  German  Embassy  (Caffa- 
relli) was  buried  in  1880  by  Baron  von  Keudell.  The  dedicatory 
inscriptions  found  in  the  Piazza  della  Consolazione,  instead  of 
being  replaced  on  the  Capitol,  to  which  they  had  been  offered  by 
the  discoverer,  have  found  their  way  to  the  Museo  delle  Terme  ; 
those  found  in  the  sixteenth  century  (Corpus  Inscr.  Lat.,  vol.  i.  p. 
169,  n.  589)  have  perished. 


300  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VTA 

Literature. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  170;  and  vol.  vi.  n.  372-374. — 
Rycq,  Be  Capitolio  romano.  Leyden,  1669.  —  Bunsen,  Beschreibung  d.  Stadt 
Rom,  vol.  iii%  p.  14. —  Hirt,  Der  capitoliniscke  Jtipitertempel  (in  Abhandl.  d. 
Berlinei"  Akademie,  1813).  —  Bureau  de  la  Malle,  Memoire  sur  la  position  de  la 
roche  tarpeienne  (in  Mem.  Academie  Inscriptions,  1819).  —  R.  Lanciani,  // 
tempio  di  Giove  ottimo  massimo  (in  Bull,  com.,  1875,  p.  165,  pis.  16-18)  ;  and 
Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  84.  —  I'ietro  Rosa,  Annali  Instituto,  1865,  p.  382. 
—  H.Jordan,  Osservazioni  sul  tempio  di  Giove  Capitolino  (in  Annali  Instit., 
1876,  p.  145)  ;  and  TopograpMe,  vol.  i^,  p.  67.  —  Fabio  Gori,  Archivio  storico 
letterario  della  citta  eprovincia  di  Roma,  vol.  i.  1875,  pp.  285-334.  —  Christian 
Huelsen,  Osservazioni  suW  architettura  del  teinpio  di  Giove  Cajntolino  (in 
Mittheilungen,  1888,  p.  150,  pi.  5).  —  Audollent,  Bessein  inedit  d^un  fronton  du 
temple  de  Jupiter  Capilolin  (in  Melanges  de  I'Ecole  frau9aise  de  Rome,  1889, 
]>.  120,  planche  2). 

LI.  FoKUM  JuLiuM.  —  In  spite  of  the  construction  of  so  many 
temples  and  basilicae  on  the  borders  of  the  Forum,  by  wliicli  the 
space  accessible  to  the  public  had  been  more  than  doubled,  the 
Forum  itself,  dating  from  the  early  days  of  the  city,  had  become 
absolutely  insufficient  for  the  wants  of  a  population  which  was 
fast  approaching  a  million.  The  first  step  towards  the  improve- 
ment of  this  state  of  things  was  taken  by  Julius  Csesar  in  54  b.  c. 
He  seems  to  have  planned  the  creation  of  a  new  forum  while 
absent  from  Italy ;  stimulated  perhaps  by  the  example  of  L. 
^milius  PauUus,  who  had  purchased  the  site  of  his  basilica 
(Emilia)  at  a  cost  of  1500  talents,  or  12,000,000  lire.  Equally 
large  was  the  sum  spent  by  Cajsar  in  securing  a  space  for  his 
"  extension."  At  the  date  of  Cicero's  letter  (iv.  16)  to  Atticus, 
some  60,000,000  sesterces  had  already  been  expended.  The  total 
cost  of  ground,  without  including  the  new  buildings,  is  said  to 
have  exceeded  100,000,000  sesterces,  or  about  20,000,000  lire,  a 
sum  obviously  exaggerated,  and  which  has  been  reduced  by  careful 
calculations  to  1,343,750  lire  (about  168  lire  the  square  metre). 
The  Forum  Julium  took  the  shape  of  a  sacred  inclosure  around 
the  temple  dedicated  by  the  dictator  45  b.  c.  to  Venus  Genetrix, 
the  goddess  from  whom  he  professed  to  descend.  Her  statue  was 
a  masterpiece  by  Arkesilaos,  and  a  masterj^iece  also  was  the  statue 
of  the  famous  charger,  which  had  been  foaled  in  the  mews  of  the 
Julian  house,  and  whose  fore  feet  were  nearly  human,  the  hoofs 
being  split,  as  it  were,  into  toes.  Ajipianus  speaks  of  a  statue  of 
Cleopatra  by  the  side  of  that  of  the  goddess ;  Ovid  of  a  fountain 
adorned  with  figures  of  nymphs  called  Appiades ;  and  Pliny  of 
famous  paintings  by  Greek  artists,  of  six  collections  of  engraved 
gems,  and  of  a  breastplate  for  the  goddess  covered  with  British 
pearls. 


THE   FORUM  JULIUM 


301 


The  beautiful  temple  was  discovered  at  the  time  of  Palladio 
in  the  foundations  of  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the  present  streets 
Cremona  and  ^lai-morelle.  He  describes  the  structure  as  built  of 
blocks  of  marble  "  lavorati 
eccellentemente."  Tlie  cor- 
nice was  adorned  with  sym- 
bols of  the  sea  —  dolphins, 
tridents,  etc.  ;  the  temple 
itself  was  hexastyle,  perip- 
teral, and  pycnostyle.  This 
last  particular  is  expressly 
mentioned  by  Vitruvius  (iii. 
3),  and  Palladio  confesses 
"  di  non  hauer  veduto  inter- 
colunnii  cosi  jnccioli  in  al- 
cun  altro  editicio  antico  "  — 
never  to  have  seen  such 
small  intei-columniation  in 
any  other  ancient  edifice. 
The  temple  is  now  com- 
pletely hidden  from  view  ; 
the  only  remains  visible,  in 
an  alley,  Via  del  Ghettarel- 
lo,  No.  18,  pertain  to  the  ta- 
berufe,  or  shops  which  lined 
the  Forum  on  the  (south-) 
west  side.  They  have  been 
excavated  twice  at  least : 
first  about  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  when  Fra 
Giocondo  da  Yerona  made 
a  design  of  them  (Utfizi,  n. 
l.-j^T),  and  again  by  Parker 
in  186G.  Tliese  important 
remains  were  called  Forum 
^lartis,  ISlartis  Forum,  Mar- 
forio,  in  the  ]Middle  Ages. 
The  statue  of  the  River 
God,  known  as  the  facetious  partner  of  Pasquino,  was  discovered 
at  the  foot  of  the  street  which  bears  his  name,  together  with  the 
granite  basin  into  which  the  water  fell  from  the  god's  ui-n.  The 
statue  was  removed  to  the  Caintol  by  Sixtus  V.,  and  placed  by 


Fig.  115.  —The  Venus  Genetrix  by  Aikesilaos 
—  a  Fragment  iu  the  Museo  delle  Terms. 


302  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

Clement  XII.,  in  1734,  in  the  court  of  the  Capitoline  Museum, 
above  the  fountain.  The  basin  was  removed  first  to  the  Campo 
Vaccino,  by  S.  Maria  Liberatrice,  in  1594,  and  again  to  the  Piazza 
del  Quirinale  in  1818.  The  place  where  both  were  discovered  is 
marked  by  a  tablet  (written  by  Bartolomeo  Marliano)  above  the 
door  No.  49  Via  di  Marforio. 

There  are  several  copies  of  the  Venus  Genetrix  of  Arkesilaos. 
The  goddess  appears  clad  in  a  thin,  semi-transparent  chiton, 
tlirough  which  the  form  of  the  young  and  lovely  body  can  be 
clearly  seen ;  the  left  breast  is  bare.  There  is  a  replica  in  the 
Borghese  Museum  (Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  ii.  p.  141,  n.  915);  an- 
other in  the  ]\Iuseo  delle  Terme,  reproduced  in  Fig.  115  (ibid., 
p.  213,  n.  1027);  a  third  in  the  Louvre  (Froehner,  Sculpture 
antique,  vol.  i.  p.  16G,  n.  135),  etc.  Consult  Otto  Jahn,  "Leip- 
ziger  Monatsberichte,"  1861,  p.  114;  and  Wissowa,  "De  Veneris 
Simulacris  romanis."     Wratislaw,  1882. 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Andrea  Palladio,  Architettura,  ed.  1570,  lib.  iv.  c.  31. — 
Flaminio  Vacca,  3Ie.m.  69  (in  Fea's  Miscell.,  vol.  i.  p.  Ixxxiii.). —  Francesco 
Cancellieri,  Noiizie  delle  statue  chtte  di  Marforio  e  di  Pasquino.  Rome,  1789. 
—  Giovanni  Battista  Cavalieri,  Antiquar.  statuar.  Rome,  1585,  pi.  94. — 
Charles  Bunsen,  Bull.  Inst.,  18.36,  p.  55.  —  Luigi  C'anina,  Foro  Romano,  94; 
and  Edifizii,  vol.  ii.  pis.  xcii.-xcv.  — F.  M.  Nichols,  The  Roman  Forum, 
p.  251.  —  Forma  Urbis  Roma,  pi.  xx. 

LII.  Forum  Augustum  (plan.  Fig.  110).  Augustus  followed 
the  example  of  Ceesar  and  built  a  third  and  more  magnificent 
forum  in  continuation  of  the  two  existing  ones.  Its  remains, 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Arco  dei  Pantani,"  rank  among  the  finest 
of  ancient  Rome.  The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  place  is  a 
wall  of  blocks  of  peperino,  raised  to  a  great  height  to  screen  the 
view  of  the  mean  houses  clustered  on  the  slope  of  the  Quirinal, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Via  Baccina  and  Salita  del 
Grillo.  The  wall  is  pierced  liy  an  original  archway,  the  Arco  dei 
Pantani  just  named,  through  which  the  modern  traflSc  passes  at  a 
considerably  higher  level  than  the  original  street  which  led  to  the 
Subura.  Against  it  stand  the  remains  of  the  beautiful  Temple  of 
Mars  Ultor,  one  of  the  few  which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the 
Augustan  age  without  restorations.  They  consist  of  three  fluted 
Corinthian  columns,  of  part  of  the  right  wall  of  the  cella,  and  of 
the  roof  of  the  vestibule.  They  stand  on  a  substructure  excavated 
in  1842,  when  the  inscription  in  "  Corpus,"  n.  2158,  was  found,  re- 
lating to  the  solemn  procession  which  the  Salii  Palatini  made 
every  year  on  INIarch  1   (and  for  several  days  following),  chanting 


THE   FORUM  AUGU8TUM 


303 


the  axamenta  or  saliaria  carmina,  and  dancing  sacred  war-dances  — 
whence  the  name  of  Salii.  The  inscription  had  ah-eady  been  seen 
and  copied  at  the  time  of  Sixtus  IV.  in  1477,  and  had  been  used, 
later  on,  in  the  restorations  of  the  church  of  S.  Basilio  of  the 
Priory  of  Malta,  which  occupied  the  southern  hemicycle  of  the 
Forum.     Mars  (Gradivus)  being  the  god  presiding  over  the  Col- 


Foro  troiano 


CRYPTA    ET 
PUTKUS    (1263) 


Part  excavated  under  Sixtus  IV  (1477) 


FORUM 
AUGUSTUM 


lia/ier  Cr  BoiUalliC. 


Fig.  116.  —  Plan  of  tlie  Forum  Augustuin. 


304  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

lege  of  the  Salii,  its  temple  was  selected  by  them  as  the  last  haltr 
ing-place  (mansio)  after  their  exhausting  progress  through  the 
city.  The  splendor  of  the  banquet  which  terminated  the  celebra- 
tion is  praised  by  both  Cicero  and  Horace,  and  indeed  the  phrases 
"  saliares  dapes  "  and  "  epulari  saliarem  in  modum  "  seem  to  have 
passed  into  a  proverb.  Suetonius  relates  that  while  the  Emperor 
Claudius  was  sitting  one  day  on  the  throne  delivering  judgment 
in  this  forum,  his  nostrils  were  struck  by  the  appetizing  odor  of 
the  repast  prepared  for  the  Salii.  Adjourning,  therefore,  the 
case  which  was  being  argued  before  him,  he  rushed  into  the  tem- 
ple and  sat  down  among  the  banqueting  priests. 

The  ii-regular  form  of  the  wall  at  the  back  of  the  temple  and 
of  the  Forum  is  accounted  for  by  the  circumstance  that  Augustus 
was  unable  to  obtain  a  symmetrical  area,  as  the  owners  of  the 
nearest  houses  could  not  be  induced  to  part  with  their  property. 
Flaminio  Vacca  says  that  a  piece  of  the  wall  having  been  demol- 
ished, towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  was  found  out 
that  the  blocks  of  peperino  were  fastened  to  each  other  by  means 
of  wooden  clamps  shaped  like  a  swallow's  tail,  and  that  nobody 
could  ascertain  what  kind  of  wood  they  were  cut  out  of  (probably 
box- wood).  Pliny  praises  the  Temple  of  Mars  Ultor  as  one  of 
the  rnost  beautiful  and  perfect  works  of  man  ever  seen  on  earth, 
and  places  it  on  the  same  level  with  the  Forum  and  Temple  of 
Peace,  and  with  the  Basilica  ^Emilia.  The  great  pieces  of  timber 
used  in  the  roof  had  been  cut  in  the  Rhaitian  Alps,  in  the  dog- 
days,  a  precaution  which  was  considered  to  make  wood  indestruc- 
tible. Pliny  also  mentions  among  its  treasures  vases  of  chiseled 
iron,  a  statue  of  Apollo  cut  in  ivory,  two  large  pictures  represent- 
ing a  battle  and  a  triumph,  and  four  noble  works  of  Apelles,  one 
of  which,  representing  the  victory  of  Alexander  the  Great,  was 
altered  in  the  time  of  Claudius  by  substituting  the  likeness  of 
Augustus  for  that  of  the  Macedonian  king.  The  temple  also 
contained  a  set  of  standard  weights  and  measures,  and  safes  and 
strong  boxes,  where  large  sums  belonging  to  private  citizens 
were  kept  under  the  guarantee  of  the  priests.  A  daring  robbery 
perpetrated  towards  the  end  of  the  first  century,  when  even  the 
precious  helmet  was  wrenched  from  the  head  of  Mars  Ultor, 
frightened  the  depositors  so  that  the  priests  gave  up  banking,  at 
least  for  the  time. 

The  main  point  of  interest  of  this  forum  was  the  gallery  of 
statues,  raised  by  Augustus  to  the  generals  who  by  their  exi^loits 
and  victories  had  extended  the  boundaries  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


THE   FORUM  AUGUSTUM 


305 


The  rules  formulated  by  Augustus  for  the  giving  of  so  great  a 
distinction  were  very  strict,  but  his  successors  soon  relaxed  their 
severity,  and  statues  were  offered  right  and  left,  just  like  the 
equestrian  orders  of  nowadays.  L.  Silanus,  although  a  minor, 
was  given  a  statue  after  his  betrothal  to  Octavia,  daughter  of 
Claudius.  Another  was  raised  in  honor  of  Q.  Curtius  Rufus, 
legate  of  Germany,  for  having  opened  a  silver  mine  (near  Nassau 


Fig.  117.  —  Tlie  South  Heuiicycle  of  the  Foruui  Augustmii.  excavated  in  1888. 


306  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine)  which  brought  little  profit  to  the 
treasury,  but  caused  great  toil  and  hardship  to  the  soldiers. 
Nero,  after  the  conspiracy  of  the  Pisones  was  revealed  to  him, 
convened  the  Senate,  and  obtained  the  ornamenta  triumplialia  for 
those  who  had  turned  informers.  Pliny  the  younger  reproaches 
Domitian  for  having  given  statues  to  men  who  had  never  been  in 
action,  not  even  in  camp,  and  who  had  never  heard  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet  except  from  the  stage. 

The  Forum  of  Augustus  lost  its  privilege  of  being  the  national 
protomotheca  with  the  construction  of  that  of  Trajan.  The  honors 
were  then  divided  between  the  two  places,  as  shown  by  the  inscrip- 
tion of  M.  BassfBus  Rufus  (Corpus,  n.  1599). 

Many  important  discoveries  illustrating  this  point  were  made  in 
1888-89,  when  the  municipality  of  Rome,  at  my  suggestion,  pulled 
down  the  houses  and  factories  which  concealed  the  southern  hemi- 
cycle  and  laid  bare  its  boundary  wall  and  the  niches  once  occupied 
by  the  statues  of  the  Roman  heroes.  I  have  described  the  results 
of  these  great  excavations  in  the  "  Bull.  arch,  com.,"  1889,  pp.  26 
and  73  (compare  1889,  p.  481 ;  and  1890,  p.  251). 

Besides  fragments  of  statues  in  military  attire,  columns  of  giallo 
antico,  capitals,  friezes  of  exquisite  workmanship,  we  brought  to 
light  the  base  of  a  donariuin,  for  which  one  hundred  pounds  of 
gold  had  been  used,  offered  to  Augustus  by  the  Spanish  province 
of  Baetica ;  a  pedestal  of  a  statue  dedicated  to  Nigrinianus,  nephew 
of  the  Emperor  Cams,  by  a  financier  named  Geminius  Festus  ;  and 
inscriptions  —  in  a  more  or  less  fragmentary  state  —  which  accom- 
panied the  statues  of  some  victorious  generals,  giving  a  short 
account  of  their  exploits.  The  editors  of  the  first  volume,  second 
edition,  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscript."  ^  attribute  to  Professor  Bormann 
the  merit  of  having  made  known  the  fact  that  these  eulogistic 
biographies,  dictated  by  Augustus,  are  divided  into  two  parts, — 
one  giving  the  name  in  the  first  case,  like  — 


M  •  AIMILIVS  •  Q  •  F  •  L  •  N 
BARBVLA    .   DICTATOR 


engraved  on  the  plinth  of  the  statue ;  the  other  giving  the  account 
of  his  career,  being  engraved  on  a  marble  tablet  placed  below  the 

1  Inscription es  latinee  antiquissimce,  editio  altera,  pars  prior,  Berlin,  Reimer, 
MDcccxciii,  p.  187,  col.  a. 


THE    FORUM    TRANSITORIUM  307 

niche.  I  had  myself  pointed  out  this  important  circumstance  so 
far  back  as  February,  1889  (see  Bull,  com.,  pp.  73,  77),  and  I  was 
able  to  prove  thus  that  many  eulogies  of  illustrious  men  —  the 
place  of  discovery  of  which  was  not  known  —  belonged  to  the 
Forum  of  Augustus. 

The  eulogies,  or  fragments  of  eulogies,  found  in  1888-89  are 
now  preserved  in  the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio.  They  belong  to 
Appius  Claudius  Csecus,  the  builder  of  the  Via  Appia ;  to  C.  Duillius, 
who  destroyed  the  Punic  fleet  on  the  coast  of  Sicily ;  to  Q.  Fabius 
Maximus,  dictator ;  to  L.  Corjielius  Scipio,  who  led  a  successful 
war  against  King  Antiochus  in  190  b.  c.  ;  to  Q.  Csecilius  Metellus 
Xumidicus ;  to  L.  Cornelius  Sulla  Felix,  dictator,  etc. 

The  area  of  the  Forum  of  Augustus  is  covered  by  a  double  bed 
of  ruins.  The  lower  one,  2.75  metres  high,  formed  the  bottom  of 
the  marsh,  or  pond,  called  il  Pantano,  where,  for  want  of  a  proper 
outlet,  the  rain-water  from  the  slopes  of  the  Quirinal  and  the 
valley  of  the  Subura  collected  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  upper 
one,  3.25  metres  thick,  dates  from  the  year  1570,  when  Pius  V.  and 
the  commissioner  of  streets,  Prospero  Boccapaduli,  drained  the 
marsh,  found  an  outlet  for  the  waters,  and  raised  the  city  to  the 
present  level.  Needless  to  say,  works  of  art  and  objects  of  arcliae- 
ological  value  are  found  only  in  the  lower  strata.  Marchese  Ales- 
sandro  Guiccioli,  syndic  of  Rome,  at  the  time  of  the  excavations 
of  1888-89  had  formed  tlie  project  of  laying  bare  the  whole  extent 
of  the  Forum  ;  and  certainly  no  greater  benefit  could  have  been 
conferred  on  students  of  ancient  Rome,  and  no  greater  addition 
secured  to  the  archajological  w^ealth  of  our  city  than  by  the  libera- 
tion of  these  ruins  from  the  ignoble  superstructures  which  hide 
them  from  view.  An  exchange  of  property  between  the  munici- 
pality and  the  Ospizio  dei  Convertendi,  which  owns  the  place,  had 
already  been  agreed  upon,  when  the  financial  crisis  of  1889  occurred, 
and  stopped  the  progress  of  our  work. 

LiTEKATUKK.  —  Theodor  Mommseu,  Res  Gestce  did  Augusti,  iv.  21-2(i,  p. 
126,  2d  edit.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  1386  ;  and  Inscr.  lat.  antiquiss.,  2d  edit. 
Berlin,  Reimer,  189.3,  p.  186.  —  Luigi  Borsari,  II  foro  di  Aur/usto  e  il  temj3io  di 
Marte  Ultore,  Accad.  Lincei,  3  serie,  vol.  xiii.,  1883-84,  p.  406.  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1889,  pj).  26  and  73.  —  Giuseppe  Gatti,  ibid.,  1889,  p. 
481;  and  1890,  p.  251,  pi.  14.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheilungen,  vol.  v., 
1890,  pp.  247,  305  ;  and  vol.  vi.,  1891,  p.  94.  —  Th(?denat,  in  Daremberg  and 
Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1311. 

LIII.  Forum  Transitorium.  —  This  Forum,  commenced  by 
Domitian  and  finished  by  Nerva,  was  called  transitorium  or  pervium 


o08  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA     VIA 

because  tlie  great  thoroughfare  of  the  Argiletum  passed  through 
it ;  also  Forum  Nerval  from  the  founder  and  Forum  jNIinervse  or 
Forum  Palladium  from  the  goddess  to  whom  it  was  dedicated.  It 
was  a  long,  narrow  inclosure,  117  metres  by  39,  more  like  a  hand- 
somely decorated  street  than  a  scjuare.  The  inclosure  walls,  built 
of  peperino  and  coated  with  marble,  were  lined  with  fluted  columns 
supporting  a  richly  carved  entablature,  of  which  one  intercolumnia- 
tion  alone  remains,  known  by  the  name  of  Le  Colonnacce  (corner 
of  Via  Alessandrina  and  Via  della  Croce  Bianca).  Four  hundred 
years  ago  it  could  still  be  measured  in  its  entirety  by  Antonio  da 
Sangallo  the  younger,  Baldassarre,  and  Sallustio  Peruzzi  and  others, 
whose  drawings  I  have  published  in  the  "  Atti  d.  r.  Accad.  d. 
Lincei,"  vol.  xi.  1883.  The  destruction  was  not  accomplished  at 
once,  but  was  the  work  of  many  generations,  the  monks  of  S. 
Adriano  being  foremost  in  the  campaign  against  the  edifice.  I 
have  found  mention  more  than  once,  in  deeds  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  of  a  great  lime-kiln  established  near  their  church  under 
the  name  of  "  calcaria  ecclesise  sancti  Hadriani."  In  November, 
1520,  a  gang  oi  fossores  lapidum  ^  opened  a  trench  at  the  foot  of  one 
of  the  archways  of  the  Forum,  known  by  the  name  of  Arcus  Noe, 
or  Arcanoe  (the  Arch  of  Noah),  and  began  to  undermine  the  wall 
of  peperino.  Francesco  di  Branca,  one  of  the  city  magistrates, 
caused  a  member  of  the  gang  to  be  arrested  ;  but  Cardinal  Scara- 
muccia  Trivulzio,  in  whose  interests  perhaps  he  was  working, 
obtained  his  prompt  release  from  Leo  X.  The  "  vignettes  "  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  of  Dosio,  Du  Perac,  Koch,  Gamucci,  etc.,  repre- 
sent this  Arch  of  Noah  and  the  adjoining  Temple  of  JNIinerva  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation.  The  ruins  were  so  striking  and  pic- 
turesque that  many  artists  have  selected  them  as  a  background  to 
their  compositions.  The  following  sketch  (Fig.  118)  of  Boscolo  in 
Laing's  collection,  Royal  Scottish  Academy,  Edinburgh,  represents 
the  meeting  of  some  holy  men  before  the  Temple  of  Minerva ;  the 
Arch  of  Noah  appears  on  the  right,  and  above  it  the  church  and 
belfry  of  SS.  Stefano  and  Lorenzo  (now  SS.  Quirico  e  Giolitta). 

The  destruction  of  the  arch  and  of  the  temple  is  commonly  attri- 
buted to  Pope  Paul  v.,  Borghese ;  but  Clement  VIII.,  Aldobrandini, 
had  already  laid  hands  on  them.  Giacomo  Grimaldi  says  that 
while  walking  one  day  through  the  Lungara  with  Giacomo  della 
Porta,  they  saw  a  great  block  of  Parian  marble  being  removed 
from  this  temple  to  S.  Peter's.  The  block,  belonging  to  the  archi- 
trave, measured  11.5.5  cubic  metres,  or  about  346  cubic  feet.  Clem- 
1  Contractors  for  the  supply  of  building  materials. 


THE    FORUM   TRANSITORIUM 


309 


eut  VIII.  made  use  of  it  for  the  high  altar  of  S.  Peter's,  which  he 
inaugurated  on  June  26,  1594.  The  rest  of  the  temple  disappeared 
in  1606.  The  columns  and  the  frieze  were  cut  in  slabs,  and  made 
use  of  for  the  decoration  of  the  fountain  of  the  Acqua  Paola  on  the 
Janiculum.  The  blocks  of  stone  belonging  to  the  cella  and  to  the 
inclosure  wall  of  the  Forum  were  given  by  Paul  V.  to  the  prior 
and  monks  of  S.  Adriano.  The  platform  of  the  temple  still  exists, 
althougli  liidden  from  view ;  the  house  at  the  corner  of  the  Via 
Alessandrina,  which  faces  the  Colonnacce  on  one  side  and  the 
church  of  8.  Agata  on  the  other,  is  built  upon  it.  Another  house. 
No.  ;58  Via  della  Croce  Bianca,  may  be  truly  said  to  rest  on  a  bed 
of  marble.  I  saw  its  foundations  sunk,  in  October,  1882,  through 
a  mass  of  broken  columns,  capitals,  friezes,  and  pedestals.  The 
pavement  of  the  Forum  lies  here  at  the  depth  of  5.50  metres. 
Like  the  Forum  Augustum  and  the  Forum  Traiani,  this  one 


Fig.  118.  — The  Forum  Trausitorium  :  a  sketch  by  Boscolo. 


had  also  its  own  gallery  of  portrait  statues.  Its  institution  dates 
from  the  time  of  Severus  Alexander ;  compare  "  Vita  Alex.,"  28  : 
"Colossal  statues,  single  or  equestrian,  were  raised  by  him  in 
Nerva's  Forum  to  deified  Emperors  or  Empresses."  Two  speci- 
mens have  come  down  to  us :  one  of  them  was  discovered  in  the 


310  A     WALK    THROUGH    THE    SACRA    VIA 

first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century  by  Angelo  de  Massimi,  and 
removed,  first  to  the  family  palace  in  the  Via  Papale,  and  later  on 
to  the  Capitoline  Museum  (ground  floor,  corridor  No.  19).  The 
name  of  King  Pyrrhus  attributed  to  it  is  manifestly  erroneous ;  at 
the  same  time  we  cannot  agree  with  Helbig  in  identifying  it  with 
Mars,  on  account  of  the  evidence  of  the  biographer,  who  speaks 
not  of  gods  but  of  deified  Roman  Emperors.  The  fragments  of 
a  second  colossal  (female)  figure,  resembling  to  a  certain  degree 
the  Thusnelda  in  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi,  Florence,  were  discovered 
by  Vitali  in  1882. 

LiTEKATURE.  —  Rodolfo  Lauciaiii,  L^  aula  e  gll  uffici  del  Senato  Romano  (in 
Mem.  Accad.  Liucei,  1883,  p.  2:3).  —  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  295, 
11.  405.  —  H.  Bliimner,  Annul.  Inst.,  1877,  p.  5;  and  Munmnenti,  vol.  x.  pi.  11. 
—  Eugene  Petersen,  Mittheilunyen,  vol.  iv.  1889,  p.  88.  —  TWdenat,  in  Da- 
remberg  and  Saglio's  Dictionnaire,  p.  1314.  —  Heinricli  .Jordan,  Forma,  p.  27. 

LIV.  Forum  Traiani  (Forum  of  Trajan,  Plan,  Fig.  119). — 
We  must  now  enter  the  last  and  most  magnificent  of  Roman  fora, 
built  by  Trajan  between  a.  d.  112  and  111  from  the  designs  of 
Apollodorus  of  Damascus.  It  was  not  only  a  masterpiece  of 
architecture,  but  also,  if  we  recollect  the  difficulties  its  builders 
had  to  contend  with  to  find  a  suitable  space  for  it,  a  chef-d' ceuvre 
of  engineering  skill. 

The  Capitoline,  located  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  was  not  an 
isolated  hill,  as  it  is  at  present :  the  tide  of  traffic  between  the 
northern  and  southern  quarters  could  not  round  it  on  either  side 
as  is  now  the  case.  The  Capitoline  was  a  spur  of  the  Quirinal, 
advancing  towards  the  river  to  within  a  few  hundred  feet  from  its 
left  bank.  The  obstruction  could  be  overcome  in  one  of  two 
ways  :  by  crossing  the  ridge  connecting  the  two  hills  by  the  Clivus 
Argentarius,  corresponding  to  our  Via  di  Marf orio,  only  five  metres 
wide  with  a  gradient  of  ten  per  cent ;  or  else  by  rounding  the  rock 
on  the  river-side.  The  passage  was  certainly  easy  and  level  on 
the  rivei-side,  but  three  times  as  long  as  the  cut  through  the  ridge, 
and  obviously  insufficient  for  the  traffic  of  a  city  inhabited  by  a 
million  people.  To  obviate  this  evil,  to  relieve  the  strip  of  land 
west  of  the  Capitoline  from  the  pressure  of  traffic,  and  to  double, 
at  the  same  time,  the  extent  of  the  five  existing  fora  (Romanum, 
lulium,  Augustum,  Pacis,  and  Transitorium)  Trajan  and  Apollo- 
dorus conceived  the  plan  of  severing  the  Capitoline  from  the  Qui- 
rinal, and  of  substituting  for  the  narrow  and  steep  guUy  of  the 
Clivus  Argentarius  a  level  space  185  metres  wide.  Private  prop- 
erty on  each  slope  and  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  was  accordingly 


THE   FORUM   OF    TRAJAN 


311 


bought  and  destroyed  to  the  extent  of  over  40,000  square  metres, 
and  the  ridge  was  cut,  excavated,  and  bodily  carted  away.  So 
great  was  the  astonishment  created  by  the  great  work  that  the 
well-known  column  was  erected  at  a  public  cost,  "  ad  declarandum 
quantas  altitudinis  raons  et  locus  sit  egestus  "  (Corpus  Inscr.,  vi. 


312  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

11.  960),  —  "•  to  show  to  posterity  how  high  rose  the  mountain  lev- 
eled to  make  room  for  the  I'orum."  The  pillar,  statue  included, 
is  42  metres  high.  The  700,000  or  800,000  cubic  metres  of  earth 
and  rock  were  carted  away  outside  the  Porta  Collina,  and  spread 
over  the  cemetery  between  the  Via  Salaria  Nova  and  Vetus.  (See 
Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  284.) 

Trajan's  Forum  comprised  seven  parts :  the  propylaia  with  the 
triumphal  arch  of  the  founder,  the  square  itself  with  the  eques- 
trian statue  in  the  middle,  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  the  Bibliotheca 
Ulpia,  two  hemicycles,  the  monumental  column,  and  the  Temple 
of  Trajan. 

The  triumphal  arch  which  formed  the  entrance  to  the  Forum 
was  demolished,  or  at  least  greatly  injured,  by  the  cominissioiiers 
of  streets  in  March,  1.526.  The  case  was  inquired  into  by  Fran- 
cesco Cenci,  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  city,  who  made  a  report 
to  the  town  council  March  26,  but  no  redress  seems  to  have  been 
obtained.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  (about 
l.'iTO)  other  remains  were  dug  up  near  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in 
C'anipo  Carleo.  Flaminio  Vacca  describes  them  as  "vestigie  di 
un'  arco  trionfale  con  molti  pezzi  di  istorie,"  viz.,  with  fragments 
of  bas-reliefs  which  represented  Trajan  fording  a  river  on  horse- 
back. King  Decebalus  bound  in  chains,  the  seizing  of  the  enemy's 
cattle,  etc.  The  last  discoveries  took  place  in  1863,  when  the 
church  of  S.  Maria  in  Campo  Carleo  was  demolished  to  widen 
the  roadway  at  the  entrance  of  the  A^ia  Alessandrina.  The  arch, 
erected,  or  at  least  voted,  by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  in  a.  d.  117,  a  few 
months  before  Trajan's  death,  is  represented  with  minute  details 
in  the  medal  ap.  Cohen,  "Monnaies  imper.  Trajan,"  n.  167. 

Literature.  —  Dion  Cassius,  Ixviii.  29.  —  Codex  vatic,  3439,  f .  84.  —  Codex 
Berolhi.,  f.  36.  — Flaminio  Vacca,  Mem.  9  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.).— 
Angelo  Pellegrini,  Bull,  fnst.,  1883,  p.  78.  —  Pasquale  Adinolfi,  Roma  neW 
eta  di  mezzo,  vol.  i.  p.  54. 

The  Forum,  95  metres  long  and  116  wide,  was  surrounded  by  a 
double  colonnade  on  three  sides,  the  fourth  side,  opposite  the 
propylaia,  being  occupied  by  the  basilica.  The  porticoes  were 
crowded  with  statues  of  eminent  men,  with  an  account  of  their 
career  engraved  on  the  pedestals.  Many  of  these  valuable  histori- 
cal documents  have  already  been  discovered ;  ^  they  belong  mostly 
to  the  fourth  century  after  Christ.  The  inclosure  wall  of  the 
forum  was  built  of  blocks  of  peperino  lined  with  marble,  like 

1  Corpus  Inscr.,  1141,  1679,  1683,  1710,  1715,  1721,  1724,  1725,  1727,  1729, 
1736,  1749,  1764,  1783. 


THE   FORUM   OF   TRAJAN  313 

those  of  the  Foriiin  Augustum  and  Forum  Transitorium.  No  trace 
of  it  appears  now  above  ground,  but  we  have  a  careful  descrip- 
tion of  it  in  a  deed  of  1263  (quoted  by  Adinolfi  in  vol.  ii.  of  "  Roma 
nell'  eta  di  mezzo,"  p.  54.  It  was  called  the  "  murus  marmoreus," 
and  crossed  the  whole  extent  of  the  Campo  Carleo  from  the  Capi- 
toline  to  the  Quirinal  hill.  The  equestrian  statue  of  the  Emperor 
rose  in  the  centre  of  the  square.  Ammianus  Marcellinus  (xvi.  10) 
describes  the  impressions  felt  by  the  Emperor  Constantius  at 
the  first  sight  of  the  group.  "  Having  now  entered  the  Forum 
Trajanum,  the  most  marvelous  creation  of  human  genius,  he  was 
struck  with  wonder,  and  looked  round  in  amazement  at  the  gi-eat 
structures  which  no  pen  can  describe,  and  which  mankind  can 
ci-eate  and  see  but  once  in  the  course  of  centuries.  .  .  .  Then  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  equestrian  statue  in  the  centre  of  the 
forum,  and  said  to  his  attendants  he  would  have  one  like  it  in 
Constantinoiile,  to  which  Ilormisdas,  a  young  Persian  prince  at- 
tached to  the  com't,  replied,  '  You  must  first  provide  your  horse 
with  a  stable  like  this.'  "  I  shall  recall  to  the  memory  of  the 
reader  only  two  of  the  numy  historical  events  which  have  taken 
place  in  this  forum.  First  the  burning  of  the  registers  of  the 
arrears  due  to  the  Imperial  Treasury  {syntjrapha  or  tahulce  dehito- 
rum)  by  private  citizens,  ordered  by  Hadrian  a.  d.  118.  The  sum 
was  simply  apjialling  :  "  novies  millies  centena  millia  sestertium," 
or  about  170,000.000  lire.  A  fragment  of  the  inscription  record- 
ing the  event,  discovered  in  1812,  has  been  set  up  in  the  modern 
wall  behind  the  pillar.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  967 ;  Eckhel, 
Doctr.  numm.,  vol.  vii.  486 ;  and  Vita  Hadr.,  7.)  The  other 
occm-rence  is  related  in  the  "  Vita  Marci,"  ch.  xvii.  The  treasury 
being  exhausted  in  consequence  of  the  Marcomannic  wars,  and 
the  Emperor  being  unwilling  to  burden  his  subjects  with  new 
contributions  (especially  as  the  pestilence  was  then  raging),  he 
put  up  at  auction  all  the  valuables  of  the  crown.  The  auction 
took  place  in  the  Forum  of  Trajan  and  lasted  two  months,  a  large 
sum  of  money  being  realized,  with  the  help  of  which  the  war  was 
brought  to  a  successful  close.  Marcus  Aurelius  sold  the  golden 
plate  and  vases  of  crystal  and  murrha,  even  the  Imperial  drinking- 
cups,  the  state  robes  set  with  gems  and  woven  of  silk,  and  also 
many  marvelous  jewels  which  he  had  found  in  a  secret  drawer  of 
Hadrian  (m  repostorio  sanctiore  Hadriani).  After  the  end  of  the 
war  he  offered  to  buy  back  the  objects  sold,  and  showed  no  dis- 
satisfaction whatever  with  those  who  refused. 

To  support  the  deep  cuttings  on  either  side  of  the  Forum,  Apol- 


314 


A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 


lodorus  raised  two  hemicycles  (Fig.  119,  A,  B)  the  design  and  ai-- 
chitecture  of  which  is  so  complicated  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
describe  it  properly.  There  are  few  traces  left  of  the  one  towards 
the  Capitol,  but  the  semicircular  line  of  the  houses  in  the  Piazza 
delle  Chiavi  d'  Oro  shows  it  to  have  been  perfectly  symmetrical  with 
the  one  on  the  opposite  side.  This  last,  very  well  preserved,  bears 
the  traditional  name  of  baths  of  ^Emilius  Paulus  —  Balneapauli, 
Magnanapoli  —  and  consists  of  many-storied  corridors  and  shops 
or  rooms,  built  against  the  live  rock  of  the  Quirinal.  The  pave- 
ment which  extends  in  front  of  the  building  was  laid  bare  during 
the  French  invasion  (1812).  The  place  well  deserves  a  visit. 
Apply  to  the  custode  of  the  Forum,  or  to  the  Ufficio  dei  Monu- 
menti  via  in  Miranda.  The  remains,  however,  are  not  all  accessi- 
ble. They  cover  an  immense  sj^ace  under  the  Palazzo  Ceva-Rocca- 
giovane,  Palazzo  Tiberi,  under  the  barracks  and  monastery  of  S. 
Caterina  da  Siena,  under  the  house  and  garden  of  Prince  Ruspoli, 
and  also  under  the  houses  of  the  Via  del  Grillo. 

LiTERATUKE.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Prodromo  di  nuove  osservazioni,  p.  4  ;  and  Iscri- 
zioni  di  Monum.,  p.  13.  —  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  Museums,  p.  20,  ii.  8.  —  Mari- 
ano Armellini,  Chiese,  2d  ed.  p.  177.  The  remains  have  been  measured  and 
slcetched  by  Sangallo  tlie  elder,  Cod.  Barberin.,  f .  2  ;  by  Sangallo  the  younger, 
Uffizi,  n.  1187;  by  Salhistio  Peruzzi,  Uffizi,  653,  654!^  656,  665,  687;"  by  Gio. 
Antonio  Dosio,  Uffizi,  2540,  2565;  by  Martin  Heemskerk,  Berlin,  28,  34;  and 
by  Andrea  Aleppi  and  Domenico  Cacchiatelli,  after  the  French  excavations 
in  1815. 

The  Basilica  Ulpia,  a  hall  89  metres  long  and  .54  wide,  siuTounded 
by  a  double  line  of  columns,  96  in  all,  was  excavated  in  1813  by 
the  French  government  after  the  demolition  of  the  convents  dello 


Fig.  120.  —Frieze  from  the  Basilica  Ulpia  (Laterau  Museuiu). 


THE   FORUM   OF   TRAJAN 


315 


Spirito  Sauto  and  di  S.  Eufemia,  which  occupied  its  site.  On  the 
return  of  Pius  VII.  in  1S14  the  works  were  resumed,  a  wall  support- 
ing the  modern  streets  was  built  on  the  border  of  the  excavations, 
and  the  columns  of  the  nave  and  aisles  were  set  up  on  their  bases, 
many  of  which  had  been  found  in  situ.  It  must  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  not  all  tlie  columns  were  of  gray  or  Psaronian  granite  ; 
those  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  doors  were  certainly,  and  those 
of  the  nave  were  probably,  of  giallo  antico,  and  fluted.  One  of  these 
last  was  removed  to  the  Lateran  at  the  time  of  Clement  VIII.  and 
placed  under  the  organ  of  the  nave  Clementina ;  and  four  went  to 
the  transept  of  S.  Peter's.  The  nave  was  covered  by  a  roof  of 
bronze,  the  bpo^ov  xa^^icov  of  Pausanias  (v.  12,  4,  and  x.  5,  5),  and 


Fig.  121.  —  Frieze  from  the  Basilica  Ulpia  (Lateran  Museum). 


paved  with  crusts  of  the  rarest  marble,  many  fragments  of  which, 
discovered  in  1813,  have  since  been  stolen  by  unscrupulous  tourists. 
The  basilica  faced  the  Forum  on  its  longer  side,  as  the  Basilica 
Julia  faced  the  Forum  Romanum.  There  were  three  doors,  flanked 
by  four  columns  each,  and  above  them  quadrigae,  and  trophies  of 
gilt  metal,  made  ex  vianuhiis,  viz.,  with  the  produce  of  the  sale  of 
the  spoils  of  war.  The  names  of  the  glorious  legions  who  had 
fought  so  bravely  in  botli  Dacian  campaigns  were  engraved  on  the 


316  A    WALK    THROUGH   THE   SACRA    VIA 

frieze  over  the  doors ;  we  can  still  i"ead  those  of  the  XI  Claudia, 
of  the  XV  Apollinaris,  and  of  the  XX  Valeria  Victrix.  Other 
trophies  were  set  up,  on  the  edge  of  the  five  marble  steps  which 
descended  to  the  "  ai'ea  fori,"  on  pedestals  inscribed  with  the  legend 
(Corpus,  vi.  n.  959),  "  The  S.  P.  Q.  R.  to  Traian,  son  of  Nerva 
.  .  .  consul  for  the  sixth  time  (a.  d.  112),  father  of  the  country, 
for  the  great  services  rendered  to  the  commonwealth  in  peace  and 
in  war."  The  marvelous  beauty  of  the  marble  decorations  of  the 
nave  and  aisles  cannot  be  properly  described.  The  reader  may  get 
an  idea  of  it  from  the  two  fragments  which  are  here  reproduced 
(Figs.  120,  121).  (Compare  Helbig's  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  468,  n.  627; 
and  p.  470,  n.  629,  630.)  The  side  of  the  basilica  towards  the 
Forum  is  represented  in  two  medals  ap.  Cohen,  "  Monnaies  imper. 
Trajan,"  n.  42,  43,  44 ;  and  its  plan  in  a  fragment  of  the  "  Forma 
Urbis,"  ap.  Jordan,  25,  26. 

The  basilica  ended  with  two  hemicycles,  one  of  which  was  called 
"  Libertatis."  The  meaning  of  the  name  is  not  certain,  but,  as  we 
know  from  Sidonius  Apollinaris  that  the  formalities  attending  the 
manumission  of  slaves  were  accomplished  in  this  Forum,  it  is 
possible  that  the  old  name  of  Atrium  Libertatis  had  been  trans- 
ferred in  the  second  century  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Forum 
Romanum  ^  to  the  hemicycle  of  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  a  portion  of 
which  is  still  visible  under  the  Palazzo  Ceva-Roccagiovine.  Momm- 
sen  and  De  Rossi  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  ceremony  of 
manumission  was  again  performed  in  the  fourth  century  in  or  near 
the  old  site,  in  the  Secretarium  Senatiis. 

Coming  out  of  the  basilica  from  the  side  opi^osite  the  Forum, 
we  enter  a  small  court  or  cavasdium  (24  metres  by  16)  flanked  by 
two  halls,  which  have  been  identified  with  the  libraries  mentioned 
by  Dion  Cassius  (Ixviii.  26).  They  were  called  Bibliotheca  Ulpia, 
and  also  Bibliotheca  Templi  Traiani.  Nibby,  who  saw  them  exca- 
vated in  1812-14,  gives  a  good  description  of  their  arrangement  in 
vol.  ii.  p.  189  of  the  "  Roma  antica."  Gellius  names  among  their 
contents  the  edicta  prcetorum,  and  Vopiscus  (?)  the  libri  lintei  or 
official  registers  {regestd)  of  the  acts  and  deeds  of  each  Emperor. 
A  special  license  from  the  prefect  of  Rome  was  required  to  inspect 
these  records  of  the  history  of  the  world ;  and  when  Vopiscus 
himself  was  asked  to  write  the  life  of  Aurelianus  on  the  basis  of 
official  documents,  he  had  to  apply  to  Junius  Tiberianus.  prefect 
A,  D.  291,  for  a  permit  to  consult  them.  Thei-e  was  another  set 
called  lihri  elephantini,  on  the  leaves  of  which,  made  of  sheets  of 
1  Cicero,  Ad  Attic,  book  iv.  n.  16  ;  Servius,  ^ntkl,  book  i.  v.  726. 


THE   FORUM   OF   TRAJAN  317 

ivory,  were  transcribed  the  Senatus  consulta  concerning  the  person 
of  the  Emperor.  The  documents  of  state  were  afterwards  re- 
moved by  Diocletian  to  his  baths. 

The  great  column,  columna  cochlis,  128  feet,  or  38  metres,  high, 
without  the  statue,  stands  in  a  court  of  such  diminutive  propor- 
tions that  it  could  not  possibly  be  seen  to  advantage,  except  from 
the  north  side,  that  is,  from  the  steps  of  the  temple.  It  is  com- 
posed of  34  blocks  of  Carrara  marble,  8  of  which  form  the  pedestal, 
1  the  base,  23  the  shaft,  1  the  capital,  and  1  the  pedestal  of  the 
bronze  statue.  A  spiral  staircase  of  185  steps,  lighted  by  45  loop- 
holes, leads  to  the  top,  viz.,  to  the  square  platform  above  the 
capital.  A  spiral  band  of  high  reliefs  describing  the  fortunes  of 
the  Dacic  wars  covers  the  column  on  the  outside.  The  reliefs, 
containing  2,500  figures,  were  cut  after  the  shaft  had  been  set  up, 
so  as  to  make  the  joints  of  the  blocks  absolutely  imperceptible. 
The  same  process  was  followed  with  regard  to  the  spiral  stairs, 
which  were  only  roughly  hewn  out  of  the  block  before  it  was 
lifted  into  position,  and  then  finished.  Nothing  can  give  a  better 
idea  of  the  exactness  and  ingenuity  with  which  the  great  work 
was  accomplished  than  to  ascend  the  pillar  ^  and  examine  the 
joints,  the  development  of  the  steps,  and  the  clever  distribution  of 
the  loopholes,  which,  while  supplying  plenty  of  light,  are  so  well 
concealed  by  the  outer  relief  as  to  i-emain  almost  invisible.  On 
Hearing  the  door,  which  opens  on  the  platform  or  balcony  above 
the  capital,  we  see  the  sides  of  the  stairs  covered  with  graffiti, 
with  historical  names  among  them.  The  oldest  dates  from  a.  d. 
663,  and  refers  to  the  disastrous  visit  of  Constans  II.,  described 
in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  294. 

There  is  a  current  belief  that  Trajan's  ashes  were  deposited 
underneath  the  column  in  an  urn  of  solid  gold.  Dion  Cassius 
(Ixix.  2)  is  responsible  for  this  statement,  which  is  confirmed  by 
Eutropius  and  Cassiodorus  ;  but  if  we  consider  that  the  column 
was  finished  in  113,  viz.,  four  years  before  Trajan's  death,  that  the 
inscription  on  the  pedestal  distinctly  asserts  that  it  was  raised  to 
mark  the  height  of  the  hill  cut  away  to  make  room  for  the  Forum 
and  not  as  a  funeral  monument,  and  that  there  is  no  trace  of  a 
room,  recess,  or  vault,  nor  of  a  door  and  of  stairs  leading  or  de- 
scending to  it,  Dion's  statement  appears  to  us  more  than  doubtful. 
The  question  C9uld  be  easily  cleared  up  de  facto  by  examining  the 
foundations  on  which  the  column  rests. 

1  Permission  may  be  obtained  at  the  Ufficio  regionale  dei  Monumenti  via  in 
Miranda. 


318  A    WALK    THROUGH    THE   SACRA    VIA 

An  inscription  discovered  in  Rome  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century  is  closely  connected  with  the  Emperor's  death  at 
Selinus  in  Cilicia,  in  Angust,  117.  It  mentions  likewise  the  death 
of  one  of  his  faithful  servants,  a  young  man  of  twenty-eight,  M. 
Ulpius  Phsedimus,  a  butler,  which  took  place  on  August  12  of  the 
same  year  and  in  tlie  same  city.  His  ashes  were  also  removed 
to  Rome  and  given  a  solemn  burial :  "  reliquiae  treiectse  eius  ex 
permissu  collegii  pontific(um)  piaculo  facto." 

The  discovery  of  the  polychromy  of  the  column,  viz.,  of  traces 
of  colors  (and  of  gilding?),  was  made  by  G.  Semper  on  July  9, 
1833,  as  briefly  described  in  the  "Bull.  Inst.,"  1833,  p.  92.  P. 
Morey,  one  of  those  who  had  joined  Semper  in  his  perilous  expe- 
dition,!  tried  to  deny  the  statement  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Bun- 
sen  (ibid.,  1836,  p.  39).  Later  observations,  made  when  Napoleon 
III.  caused  a  plaster  cast  to  be  taken  of  the  column,  have  shown 
Semper's  theory  to  be  the  correct  one. 

The  pedestal  of  the  column  was  excavated  at  the  time  of  Paul 
III.,  who  caused  the  church  of  S.  Nicolao  de  Columna  to  be  de- 
molished. Sixtus  V.  in  1.588  built  an  inclosure  wall  round  the 
pedestal,  and  placed  the  bronze  statue  of  S.  Peter  on  the  top  of 
the  pillar.  The  murder  of  Hugues  Basseville  or  Basville,  the 
envoy  of  the  French  revolutionists,  took  place  at  the  foot  of  this 
column  the  23  nivose,  an  I.  (January  13,  1793).  The  assassina- 
tion is  represented  in  a  rare  engraving  by  Berthault. 

Literature.  —  Cor/9M.s  inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  960. —  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the 
elder,  Cod.  Barber.,  f.  18,  and  other  artists  mentioned  in  Ferri's  Catalogue  of 
Architectural  Drawings  in  the  Uffizi  (Rome,  1885),  pp.  156  and  167.  —  Pietro 
da  Cortona,  in  Dr.  Meade's  collection  of  drawings  at  Eton  College.  See  Bull, 
com.,  1895,  p.  182. —  Alfonso  Ciaccone,  Hisloria  utriusque  belli  Dacici,  etc. 
Rome,  1576,  fol.  — Anton.  Francesco  Gori,  Columna  traiana  .  .  .  ab  Andrea 
Morellio  delineata;  etc.  Amsterdam,  1652.  —  Raffaele  Fahretti,  De  columna 
traiana  syntai/ma'.  Rome,  1683.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Trofeo  o  sia  mayni- 
fica  cohnna,  etc.,  in  28  plates.  —  Platner  and  Hirt,  Gesch.  des  Baukunst,  ii. 
355.  ^  Carlo  Fea,  in  Winckehnann's  Storia  dell'  Arte,  .\o\.  in.  p.  .355.— 
Froehner,  La  colonne  trajane,  in  8°  1865; -in  fol.  1874. —  Salomon .  Reinach, 
La  colonne  trajane  au  musee  de  Saint  Germain,  1S8G.  —  Auguste  Geffroy,  La 
colonne  d'Arcadius  a  Constantinople,  extrait  des  Monuments  et  Memoires  pu- 
blies  par  I'Acad.  des  Inscr.  Paris,  Leroux,  1895.  In  the  Cabinet  des  Estampes, 
Biblioth^que  Nationale,  Paris  (Rome,  volume  3fonti,  D),  there  are  over  one 
hundred  prints  of  the  column.  A  silver  model  carved  by  Valadier  is  now  in 
the  royal  palace  at  Munich. 

The  Temple  of  Trajan  closed  the  monumental  group  on  the 
1  They  had  been  lowered  from  the  capital  in  a  kind  of  cage  held  by  ropes 
and  pulleys. 


THE   FORUM   OF   TRAJAN 


319 


north  side.  It  was  erected  by  Hadrian  parentibvs  svis  (Trajan 
and  Plotina),  and  was  noted  for  its  colossal  proportions.  The 
Corinthian  capitals  six  feet  high,  and  the  pieces  of  columns  of 
granite  six  feet  in  diameter  which  now  lie  at  the  foot  of  the  pillar, 
have  been  discovered  at  various  times  under  the  Palazzo  Imperiali- 
Valentini.  Winckelmann  describes  the  removal  of  one,  found 
in  August,  1765,  while  five  more  were  left  on  the  spot.  I  liave 
myself  seen  other  pieces  discovered  when  the  Palazzo  Valentin i 
became  the  seat  of  the  county  council.  The  curious  set  of  heads 
of  animals,  alluding,  perhaps,  to  the  conquest  of  Arabia  made  by 


Fig.  122. 


1  in  the  Forum  of  Trajan. 


Cornelius  Pal  ma,  formerly  in  the  court  of  the  palace,  was  removed 
in  1878  to  the  Collegio  Romano,  and  again  in  1890  to  the  Museo 
delle  Terme.     (See  Fig.  122.) 

Literature. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  n.  966.  —  Winckelmann,  in  Fea's  Miscel- 
lanea, vol.  i.  p.  cci.  n. '7;  anil  Storia  deW  Arte,  vol.  ii.  p.  372,  iii.  p.  44. — ' 
Minutolo,  in  Sallengre's  Stijjpl.  antiq.  rom.,  vol.  i.  col.  159.  —  Rodolfo  Lan- 
ciaui,  Bull.  Inst.,  ISdQ,  p.  237. 

The  Forum  of  Trajan  has  been  a  favorite  subject  of  study  with 
the  young  architects  of  the  French  Academy,  Villa  Medici.  A 
list  of  their  drawings  and  restorations  has  been  published  by  E. 
Pourchet,  15  Rue  des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris. 


BOOK  IV 

URBS    SACRA    REGIONUM    XIV 

Before  giving  an  account  of  the  rest  of  the  city,  I  must  remind 
the  reader  once  more  that  in  writing  this  book  I  do  not  intend  to 
produce  a  manual  of  Roman  topography,  but  simply  a  description 
of  its  existing  remains.  In  carrying  out  the  scheme  I  have 
endeavored,  as  stated  in  the  preface,  to  group  the  buildings  in 
regard  to  their  chronology  or  destination  rather  than  to  the  place 
they  occupy  accidentally  in  the  various  quarters  of  the  city. 

THE  RUINS   OF  THE   C^LIAN   HILL. 

Regio  I.    Porta  Capena. 

I.  The  Cfelian  liill  and  its  southwestern  slopes  were  included 
by  Augustus  within  the  limits  of  the  first  and  second  regions,  the 
line  of  separation  being  the  wall  of  Servius  Tullius.  Regio  I, 
named  Porta  Capena,  extended  on  the  left  side  of  the  Appian 
Way  as  far  as  the  river  Almo  (tlie  Acquataccio,  or  Marrana  della 
Caffarella),  a  distance  of  2107  metres  from  the  gate.  Richter 
calls  it  appropriately  "die  Vorstadt  der  Via  Appia"  and  also  "die 
Vorstadt  extra  Portam  Capenam."  It  was  a  narrow  strip  of  land, 
bounded  on  the  side  opposite  the  Appian  Way  by  another  road, 
issuing  from  the  Porta  Metroni,  the  name  of  which  is  unknown. 
A  third  road,  the  Latina,  crosses  it  diagonally,  skirting  the  base 
of  a  hillock  called  by  Ficoroni  "  il  Celiolo,"  "  Remuria  "  by  others, 
"Calvarello"  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  now  the  "Monte  d'  Oro." 
Considering  the  preference  given  by  the  Romans  to  the  borders  of 
the  great  consular  roads  for  the  establishment  of  public  cemeteries, 
and  for  the  erection  of  private  tombs  and  mausoleums,  no  wonder 
that  Regio  I,  crossed  by  three  of  them,  the  Appia,  the  Latina,  and 
the  one  issuing  from  the  Porta  Metroni,  should  be  in  the  main  a 
region  of  tombs.     Some  of  them  date  from  a  remote  age,  when 


Ftg   1Z3 

y\\V  OF   KKGIONS    T   PORTA 

rAPFNA   AND    \\  CAELI>\ONTT\'M 


PORTA    CAPENA  321 

the  Via  Appia  and  the  Via  Latina  were  mere  paths  traced  by  the 
hoofs  of  beasts  of  burden  and  not  leveled  or  yet  paved  by  the 
hand  of  man.  Such  is  the  sepulchral  cave  discovered  in  May, 
1836,  in  the  Vigna  Cremaschi,  the  first  on  the  right  of  the  Porta 
Latina,  a  description  of  which  is  given  in  the  "Bullett.  Inst.," 
1836,  p.  103.  It  was  found  by  accident  below  the  pavement  of  a 
columbaria  of  the  first  centiuy,  at  a  depth  of  7.80  metres.  It  con- 
sisted of  "a  gi'otto  hewn  out  of  the  live  rock,  of  irregular  shape 
and  without  ornaments.  It  contained  several  vases  of  black  wai-e 
(bucchero  ?)  with  rough  figures  of  animals  traced  on  their  surface 
in  the  Etruscan  fashion.  One  of  the  vases  contained  the  remains 
of  an  incinerated  body."  Roman  tradition  and  epigraphic  docu- 
ments help  us  in  following  the  growth  and  development  of  this 
great  necropolis,  especially  after  the  opening  of  the  Vise  Latina 
and  Appia,  which  took  place  between  312  and  297  b.  c.^  The  first 
historical  tomb,  on  leaving  the  gate,  was  that  of  Horatia,  which 
Livy  (i.  26)  describes  as  built  "saxo  quadrate"  with  blocks  of 
tufa;  then  followed  the  family  mausoleums  of  the  Catalini,  of  the 
Scipios,  of  the  Servilii,  of  the  Metelli,  mentioned  by  Cicero  (Tus- 
cul.  1,  7,  13),  two  of  which,  those  of  the  Scipios  and  of  the  Metelli, 
are  still  in  existence. 

II.  HypoG.EUM  SciPioxuM,  discovered  partly  in  1614,  partly  in 
1780.  This  venerable  monument  and  the  ground  which  covers 
and  surrounds  it  were  bought,  on  my  suggestion,  by  the  city  in 
1880.  They  are  entered  by  the  Via  di  Porta  S.  Sebastiano,  No.  12, 
and  can  be  visited  every  day,  Sundays  excepted.  Entrance  fee,  2.5 
centimes. 

The  discoveries  of  the  seventeenth  century  have  been  mentioned 
by  one  epigraphist  alone,  Giacomo  Sirmondo,  in  a  book  entitled 
"  Antiqna?  inscriptionis,  qua  L.  Scipionis  Barbati  filii  expressum 
est  elogium,  explanatio,"  Rome,  1617.  Two  sarcophagi  were  found  : 
one,  of  L.  Cornelius  Scipio,  qutestor  167  B.  c,  was  left  undisturl)ed  ; 
the  other,  of  L.  Cornelius,  son  of  Barbatus,  consul  2.'59,  was  broken 
and  its  inscription  sold  to  a  stone-cutter  near  the  Ponte  Rotto,  in 

1  The  Via  Appia  was  munita,  that  is  to  say,  leveled,  straightened,  and  ma- 
cadamized by  Appius  Claudius  Cfficus,  censor  in  312  b.  c.  (Livj-,  ix.  29).  The 
brothers  Ogulnii,  censors  in  297,  added  to  it  a  sidewallv  paved  with  flagstones, 
which  went  as  far  as  the  Temple  of  Mars  {ibid.,  x.  23).  Lastly,  T.  Quinctius 
Flamininus  and  M.  Claudius  Marcellus,  censors  in  188,  "  viam  silice  sternen- 
dam  a  porta  Capena  ad  Martis  locaveriint"  (ibid.,  xxxviii.  28).  If  we  can 
believe  the  same  historian,  the  rest  of  the  road  from  the  temple  to  Bovillje 
had  been  paved  since  the  year  292  (x.  47). 


322 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


whose  shop  Grimaldi  saw  it  on  September  25,  1614.  Agostini 
bought  it  for  twenty  scudi,  and  gave  or  sold  it  to  the  Barberini, 
who  set  it  into  the  wall  of  the  spiral  staircase  of  their  palace,  near 
the  door  of  the  library. 

The  brothers  Sassi,  owners  of  the  vineyard  in  wliich  the  dis- 
coveries of  1614  had  taken  j)lace,  while  enlarging  their  wine-cellar 
in  May,  1780,  came  once  more  across  the  hypogseum,  and  laid  bare 
its  pi-ecious  contents.  In  reading  the  accounts  left  by  Morcelli, 
Marini,  Visconti,  and  Amaduzzi,  we  cannot  understand  liow  such 
acts  of  wanton  destruction  as  the  brothers  Sassi  perpetrated  on 
this  most  venerable  of  Roman  historical  tombs  could  have  been 
permitted  or  left  unpimished  by  Pius  VI.,  whose  love  for  antique 
monuments  certainly  cannot  be  questioned. 

"The  Scipios'  tomb  contains  no  ashes  now: 

The  very  sepulchres  lie  tenantless 

Of  their  heroic  dwellers  !  " 
The   sarcophagi  were   broken   to   pieces ;    their   inscribed   fronts 
removed  to  the  Vatican ;   the  aspect  of  the  crypts  altered ;    tlie 


"^^r 


■Sffl? 


Fv IT- CONSO i. -C EHjrOTI;Al'Dl I- 1  5 QvElE\flT-^ PvO-VXJS -TAVPAStftC l5 AVW^ 


Fig.  in.  —  Sarcoi>liiigu.s  of  Scipio  Barbatus  in  tlie  Vatican. 

movable  objects  dispersed;  the  facsimiles  of  the  original  epitaphs 
affixed  to  the  wrong  places ;  the  signet  ring  of  one  of  the  heroes, 
with  the  image  of  the  Victory,  given  away  to  a  Frenchman,  Louis 
Dutens,  who  in  his  turn  gave  or  sold  it  to  Lord  Beverley.  And 
lastly,  the  very  bones  of  the  illustrious  men,  which  had  been 
respected  even  by  the  so-called  barbarians,  would  have  been  dis- 
persed to  the  four  winds,  but  for  the  ijious  interference  of  Angelo 
Quirini,  a  senator  of  Venice,  who  rescued  the  relics  of  L.  Cornelius 
Scipio,  son  of  Barbatus,  and  placed  them  in  a  marble  nrn  in  the 


THE    TOMB    OF    THE    SCIPWS  323 

Villa  deir  Alticchiero,  near  Padua.  A  remarkable  fate  indeed,  if 
we  recall  to  mind  the  words  of  Livy  (xxxviii.  53):  •'  Scipio  spent 
the  last  years  of  his  life  at  Literuum,  without  missing  in  the  least 
degree  the  attractions  of  city  life ;  and,  if  we  are  to  believe  tradi- 
tion, he  left  instructions  at  the  point  of  death  to  be  buried  in  his 
farm  :  monimentumque  ibi  sedificarine  funus  sibi  in  ingrata  patria 
lieret."  The  same  mother  country,  obdurate  in  her  ingratitude, 
allowed  these  remains  to  be  dispersed  after  twenty  centuries  of  rest. 

From  the  descriptions  left  by  those  who  witnessed  the  excavations 
of  1780,  compared  with  a  model  in  full  relief  made  at  the  same 
time  ^  and  with  the  present  aspect  of  the  place,  we  learn  the  fol- 
lowing details  about  the  origin  and  the  arrangement  of  the  hypo- 
gagum. 

The  part  of  the  ancient  cemetery  now  occupied  by  the  Vigna 
Sassi  was  crossed  at  an  early  period  by  a  side  road,  connecting  the 
Via  Appia  with  the  Latina,  the  pavement  of  which  is  still  visible 
at  the  two  ends.  The  road  followed  the  foot  of  a  rocky  ridge  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  high,  and  passed  one  or  more  tufa  quarries  which  had 
been  opened  in  the  face  of  the  cliffs.  One  of  these  quarries,  proba- 
bly the  property  of  the  Scipios,  was  transformed  into  their  family 
tomb  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  b.  c,  probably  on  the 
occasion  of  the  opening  of  the  Via  Appia,  u.  c.  812.  The  hypo- 
gteum,  roughly  modeled  on  the  Etruscan  type,  formed  ,a  lai-ge 
room,  with  a  flat  low  ceiling  supported  by  four  massive  pillars  of 
rock,  yet  very  far  from  the  regularity  which  it  appears  to  have  in 
Piranesi's  drawings  (Fig.  125).  The  fii-st  occupant  was  L.  Cornelius 
Scipio  Barbatus,  consul  in  298  b.  c.  His  sarcophagus,  now  in  the 
Vatican  Museum  (Belvedere,  No.  2),  is  the  only  elaborate  piece  of 
work  discovered  in  the  tomb.  The  frieze,  which  is  Doric  in  style, 
consists  of  triglj'jjhs  and  of  metopes  adorned  with  rosettes :  the 
torus  of  the  lid  ends  with  Ionic  volutes.  The  inscription,  in  the 
early  Italic  Saturnine  verse,  has  been  translated  by  Mommsen  as 
follows  :  — 

roniclius  Lucius  —  Scipio  Barbatus 
son  of  his  father  Gn:evus  —  a  man  as  clever  as  brave 
whose  handsome  appearance  —  was  in  harmony  with  his  A-irtue 
who  was  consul  and  censor  —  among  you,  as  well  as  ^Edilu 

Tanrasia  Cisaunia  —  he  captured  in  Samnium 
utterly  overcomes  Lucania  —  and  brings  away  hostages. - 

1  Nibby  saw  it  in  18.39  in  the  house  of  Signer  Vincenzo  Titoli. 

-  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide  to  the  Collections  of  Antiquities  in  Rome,  vol.  i.  p. 
7.5.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  16,  n.  29,  30;  vol.  vi.  n.  1284,  1285.  —  iJet-we  de 
Philologie,  xiv.  (1890)  p.  119. 


324 


URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


The  other  sarcophagi  were  made  of  phiin  slabs  of  stone,  or  cut 
out  of  a  single  block.  Their  respective  positions  are  marked  in 
tlie  annexed  plan. 


Fig.  125.  —  Plan  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Scipios,  according  to  Piranesi. 

A  A,  Cross-road  between  the  Via  Appia  and  the  Latina.  B  B,  }fiirtii>  or 
semita,  raised  footway.  C,  Arclied  entrance  built  of  rough  blocks  of  pepe- 
rino.  D,  Base  of  one  of  the  columns  which  decorated  the  front  of  the  upper 
story.  E,  Ancient  entrance  to  the  quarry,  by  which  the  sarcophagi  were 
nitroduced  into  the  crypt.  F,  Sarcophagus  of  Lucius  Scipio,  son  of  Asiaticus, 
Corpus,  vol.  i.  n.  31.  G,  H,  L,  T,  V,  Coffins  of  unknown  personages.  I,  Coffin 
of  peperino  before  which  the  marble  tablet  of  .Julius  Silanus  was  found.  M, 
Sarcophagus  of  L.  Scipio,  son  of  Barbatus,  n.  -32.  X,  Sarcophagus  of  L.  Scipio, 
sou  of  Cuivus,  n.  34.  0,  Sarcojiliagus  of  Scipio  Bar-batus,  n.  29.  P,  Sarco- 
phagus of  Cornelia  Paula,  n.  -30.  Q,  Sarcophagus  of  Scipio  Asiagenes  Comatus, 
n.  36.  R,  Sarcophagus  of  Scijiio  Hispallus,  n.  38.  S,  Marble  slab  with  name 
of  Cornelia  Ga?tulica.  XXX,  Three  rooms,  forming  part  of  an  edifice  of  the 
second  century,  built  of  bricks.  Y,  Sarcophagus  of  P.  Scipio  flamen  dialis, 
n.  33.    Z,  Present  entrance  to  the  crypt. 


THE    TOMB    OF    THE    f^ClPlOS 


325 


We  are  not  sure  how  much  faith  Piranesi's  plan  deserves,  some 
of  the  particulars  being  manifestly  fanciful.  The  gallery,  for 
instance,  which  runs  in  front  of  the  sarcophagus  of  Barbatus  (O), 
has  never  been  finished,  and  its  end  on  the  right  is  still  blocked 
by  a  ledge  of  live  rock.  The  reader  may  estimate  the  amount  of 
damage  M'hich  the  hypogajum  has  suffered  since  1780  by  compar- 
ing Piranesi's  plan  w  ith  the  following  one,  w  hich  shows  its  present 
state. 


Entrance 


Fig.  \16.  —  Tomb  of  the  Scipios.     (Present  State.) 


There  are  three  more  particulars  to  be  noticed.  The  first  is  that 
the  crypts  of  the  Scipios  were  kept  accessible  as  a  place  of  his- 
torical pilgrimage  up  to  the  fourth  century  after  Christ,  as  shown 
by  the  walls  in  the  so-called  "  opus  maxentianum,"  built  here  and 
there  to  keep  the  tomb  in  repair. 

In  the  second  ])lace,  the  preference  shown  by  the  gens  Cornelia, 
of  which  the  Scipios  were  a  branch,  for  burial  as  opposed  to  crema- 
tion, is  proved  by  the  presence  of  sarcophagi  and  by  the  absence 
of  cinerary  urns.  (See  Cicero,  De  Leg.,  ii.  12 ;  and  Pliny,  vii.  54^.) 
The  first  Cornelius  to  give  up  family  traditions  on  this  point  was 
Sulla  the  dictator,  who,  having  caused  the  remains  of  Marius  to 
be  exhumed  and  profaned,  ordered  his  own  body  to  be  cremated 
tor  fear  of  retaliation.     Sulla's  ashes  wei'e  not  deposited  in  this 


326  URBS   SACRA    REGION VM   XIV 

family  vault,  —  which  seems  to  have  been  owned  only  by  the  three 
branches  of  the  Scipios  called  Africani,  Asiatici,  and  Hispalli,  — 
but  in  a  great  mausoleum  on  the  Campus  Martins  described  by 
Plutarch.  What  seems  strange,  however,  is  that  none  of  the  leaders 
of  the  three  branches  —  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio  Africanus  Maior, 
the  conqueror  of  Carthage,  f  183  b.  c.  ;  Lucius  Cornelius  Scipio 
Asiaticiis,  his  brother ;  and  Cn.  Cornelius  Scipio  Ilispallus,  consul 
in  171  —  should  have  found  rest  in  this  tomb.  Livy  (xxxviii.  .56) 
says  that  no  one  knew  whether  the  great  Africanus  had  been  buried 
at  Liternum  or  at  Rome,  because  a  grave  and  a  statue  were  shown 
in  both  places.  Seneca  likewise  writes  to  Lucilius  from  Liter- 
num :  "  I  address  this  epistle  [Ixxxvi]  to  you  from  the  very  villa 
of  Scipio  the  African,  after  having  paid  reverence  to  his  memory 
and  to  the  altar  which  I  suspect  to  be  his  grave."  The  monument 
and  statue  erected  in  or  near  the  Roman  hypogseum  have  yet  to 
be  discovered. 

The  third  particular  refers  to  the  presence  of  an  outsider  in  the 
same  hypogreum,  of  Q.  Ennius  the  poet,  who  was  born  at  Rudise 
in  Calabria  in  289  b.  c,  and  died  in  Rome  at  the  age  of  seventy. 
Although  dwelling  in  a  humble  house  on  the  Aventine,  and  sup- 
porting himself  by  teaching  the  Greek  language  and  translating 
Greek  plays  for  the  Roman  stage,  he  was  the  friend  of  the  great, 
and  lived  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  with  the  elder  Africanus. 
Livy  (xxxviii.  36)  says  that  "  in  Scipionum  moimmento  extra 
portam  Capenam"  three  statues  could  be  seen,  one  of  which  was 
considered  to  represent  the  poet,  and  Cicero  adds  that  the  statue 
was  of  marble.  A  laurel-crowned  portrait  head  in  peperino  was 
actually  found  in  the  tomb  in  1780,  and  is  now  placed  in  the 
Vatican  Museum  above  the  sarcophagus  of  Barbatus.  "  The  un- 
Roman  type  of  countenance  and  the  jiresence  of  the  laurel  wreath, 
which  might  well  be  worn  by  a  poet,"  have  led  many  to  attribute 
this  head  to  the  statue  mentioned  by  Livy  and  Cicero.  The  objec- 
tion derived  from  the  material  in  which  it  is  carved  (peperino 
instead  of  marble)  has  no  great  weight.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
Cicero  is  mistaken  in  mentioning  marble,  because  in  the  third 
century  b.  c.  portrait  statues  and  busts  were  sculptured  in  Rome 
out  of  stone. 

Literature.  —  Giovanni  Amaduzzi,  Novelle  letter,  forentine,  1780-83. — 
Gio.  Battista  Visconti,  Antologia  romana,  vols,  vi.-ix.  —  Louis  Dutens,  CEuvres 
melees.  Geneva,  1784.  —  Enrico  Quirino  Visconti,  in  Piranesi's  Monumento 
def/li  Scipioni,  Rome,  178.5  ;  and  Opere  varie,  Milan,  1827,  voL  i.  pp.  1-70. — 
Lanzi,  Saggio  di  lingua  etrusca,  vol.  i.  p.  150.  —  Gaetani  Marini,  Atti  A7-val.,  p. 


THE    COLUMBARIA    OF  POMPONIUS   HYLAS  327 

117,  n.  109.  —  Carlo  Fea,  in  Wiuckelmaiiii's  Storia  deW  Arte,  i.  30,  and  iii.  46. 
—  Antonio  Jfibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  .561. —  Corpus  Iiiscr.,  vol.i.  pp.  11-16, 
n.  29-39  ;  and  vol.  vi.  p.  282,  n.  1284-1294.  — Wolfgang  Helbig,  Gtdde,  vol.  i. 
p.  75,  n.  127;  and  p.  .356,  n.  484. 


Fig.  127.  —  Portrait  Bust  of  Scipio  the  Elder  (Capitoline  Museum). 

At  the  opposite  end  of  the  Vigiia  Sassi,  clo.se  to  the  chapel  of  S. 
Giovanni  in  Oleo  and  to  the  Porta  Latiua,  are  to  be  seen  — 

III.  The  Columbaria  (so-called)  of  Pomponius  Hylas.  Keys 
with  the  custode  of  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios ;  open  every  day  except 
Sunday. 

This  graceful  structure,  one  of  the  best  preserved  of  its  kind  in 
Rome,  was  discovered  by  Pietro  Campana  in  1831.  It  is  known 
by  the  name  of  "  Hylas  and  Vitaline,"  because  the  mosaic  tablet 
inscribed  CN  •  pompoxi  hylae  —  pomponiae  •  cn  ■  l  vitalinis 


328  URBS   SACRA    REGIONVM   XIV 

occuj)ies  the  most  conspicuous  place  opposite  the  entrance ;  but 
the  fact  is  that  it  was  built,  like  so  many  others  of  the  Augustan 
age,  either  by  subscription  among  friends  or  relatives,  or  by  specu- 
lators ready  to  sell  the  cinerary  urns  to  the  first  comer.  The  crypt 
itself  contains  but  twenty-two  inscriptions,  of  no  special  interest. 
One  hundred  and  seventeen  more  were  discovered  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, many  of  which  are  set  into  the  modern  wall  inclosing  the 
tomb.  It  apj)ears  from  one  of  them  (Corpus,  n.  5631)  that  the 
ground  where  this  and  the  neighboring  tombs  are  located  belonged 
to  Cnseus  Manlius  Hasta,  a  freedman  of  the  Manlii. 

Some  of  the  fediculse  and  niches  for  cinerary  urns  have  been 
elaborately  decorated  by  the  purchasers,  though  not  often  in  good 
taste.  The  decorations  are  mostly  in  bold  relief  of  white  stucco 
on  a  colored  ground,  and  represent  various  subjects,  such  as  the 
education  of  Achilles  by  Chiron,  Oknos  twisting  the  rope  of 
rushes  while  the  ass  eats  it  up,  the  tripos  of  the  Delphic  Apollo 
between  two  griflBns  (under  the  mosaic  tablet  of  Hylas),  Bacchic 
scenes  and  dances,  etc. 

Literature.  —  Girolamo  Amati,  Codex  vatic.,  9770,  p.  3,  seq. — Antonio 
Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  556.  —  Pietro  Campana,  Di  due  sepolcri  romnni 
del  secolo  di  Auejusto  scoverti  tra  la  via  Laiina  e  V  Appia.  Rome,  1840,  fol. — 
Otto  Jahn,  Specimen  epigraph,  in  memoriam  Olai  Kellermunn.  Kiel,  1841. — 
Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  5539-5678. 

IV.  The  Columbaria  of  the  Vigna  Codini.  —  The  southeast 
end  of  the  necropolis,  between  the  Vigna  Sassi  and  the  walls  of 
Aurelian,  is  occupied  by  the  Vigna  Codini,  famous  for  the  colum- 
baria discovered  within  its  limits  since  the  renaissance  of  classical 
studies.  The  first  of  which  w^e  have  an  account  was  found  towards 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  seems  to  have  belonged  to 
the  freedmen  and  servants  of  the  sons  of  Nero  Drusus  senior, 
brother  of  Tiberius,  born  38  b.  c,  died  a.  d.  9.  It  contained  at 
least  eighty-six  inscriptions,  which  were  bought  by  several  amateurs 
of  the  age  —  Giovanni  Ciampolini,  Paolo  Alessi,  and  Francesco 
Porcari.  They  have  all  perished  except  a  dozen  or  so  which  were 
removed  from  the  Porcari  House  (Vicolo  delle  Ceste,  No.  25)  to 
the  Vatican  by  Gaetano  Marini.  Consult  the  "  Corpus  Inscr.,"  vol. 
vi.  p.  899,  n.  i'o'27-i4:lS.  Other  columbaria  were  excavated  and 
destroyed  under  Pius  IV.  (1559-66).  Pirro  Ligorio  designed  one 
of  them,  belonging  to  the  freedmen  of  the  gens  Pompeia ;  and  his 
drawings  have  been  reproduced  by  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli  in  plates 
39-41  of  the  volume  "  Gli  autichi  sepolcri,"  Kome,  1768.  Flaminio 
Vacca  speaks  of  a  "  magnificasepoltura"  discovered  and  destroyed 


THE    COLUMBARIA    OF   THE    VIGNA    COD  INI  329 

by  Cardinal  Prospero  Santacroce,  f  1589,^  and  of  some  sarcophagi, 
inscribed  Diis  Maiiibus,  of  columns,  architectural  ornaments,  and 
other  fragments  which  he  himself  bought  in  a  vineyard  near  the 
Porta  Latina.  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli  likewise  mentions  the  dis- 
covery of  pagan  and  Christian  cemeteries  near  the  junction  of  the 
Ajipia  and  the  Latina,  in  a  vineyard  of  a  certain  Orlandi.  Orlandi 
had  collected  a  very  rich  harvest  in  cameos,  intaglios,  cinerary  urns 
of  glass,  of  marble,  and  of  metal,  figurines  of  bronze  and  terra 
cotta,  and  other  "  cose  bellissime,"  when  Donna  Olimpia  Pamfili, 
the  omnipotent  sister  of  the  reigning  Pope  Innocent  X.,  seized  the 
whole  collection,  and  carried  it  in  four  cartloads  to  her  own  palace 
in  the  Piazza  Navona.  Another  excavation,  described  by  Bartoli, 
led  to  the  discovery  of  a  sepulchral  room  containing  the  cinerarium 
of  Asinia  Fortunata  (Corpus,  n.  12,547). 

In  1726-33  many  columbaria  (gran  quantita  di  camere  sepol- 
crali  ripiene  di  colomhaj)  were  excavated  by  Francesco  Bevilacqua 
near  the  boundary  line  with  the  Vigna  Sassi.  Ficoroni  speaks  of 
many  hundred  urns  of  terra  cotta  and  alabaster  filled  with  incin- 
erated remains,  of  inscriptions  still  retaining  the  red  color  of  the 
letters,  of  vases  carved  in  marble,  and  of  frescoes,  one  of  which 
represented  the  figure  of  an  architect  with  the  instruments  (the 
graphium,  the  pes,  the  square,  the  plummet)  of  his  profession. 
This  interesting  picture  would  have  been  destroyed  like  the  others, 
but  for  the  prompt  action  of  Marchese  Alessandro  Capponi,  who 
caused  it  to  be  removed  from  the  wall,  transferred  to  canvas, 
framed,  and  afterwards  engraved  on  copper.  The  original  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Kircherian  ^Museum.  Pier  Leone  Ghezzi  adds 
that  the  excavations  of  1726  were  carried  on  in  both  vineyards 
at  the  same  time,  —  in  the  Yigna  Sassi  at  the  expense  of  Herr 
Wenkler  of  Leipzig,  in  the  Vigna  Codini  at  the  expense  of  Signor 
Garzia  Muggiani,  who  then  owned  the  property.  The  quantity  of 
tombs  brought  to  light  by  these  men  is  described  as  "  prodigious." 
The  reader  may  appreciate  the  barbarous  way  in  which  antique 
monuments  were  treated  in  those  days  from  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  inscriptions  discovered  in  1726-33  have  perished,  and  the  few 
spared  are  now  dispersed  far  and  wide,  at  Verona,  A^enice,  Lowther 
Castle  near  Penrith,  and  at  Rome  itself  in  the  Vatican  and  Kir- 
cherian museums. 

1  Cardinal  Prospero  is  famous  for  having  first  introduced  into  Kome  the  tobacco 
leaf,  which  was  named  from  him  erba  santa,  or  erba  santacroce.  In  memory 
of  this  event  Roman  tobacconists  used  to  put  in  the  signs  of  their  shops  a  white 
cross,  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Santacroce  family. 


330  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

Literature.  — Francesco  Ficoroni,  La  boUa  d'  oru,  p.  47  ;  and  Memorie 
(in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  cxxxiv.  n.  33).  —  Pier  Leone  Ghezzi  (in  Bull, 
arch,  com.,  1882,  p.  206,  n.  2  ;  and  p.  222,  n.  60).  — Theodor  Schreiber,  Die 
Fundberichte  des  P.  L.  Ghezzi  (in  Bericliten  der  k.  siichs.  Gesellschaft  d. 
Wissenschaften,  1892,  p.  111).  —  Corpus  Jnscr.,  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  968,  n.  .581.3- 
5841. 

Excavations  were  resumed  in  1788,  near  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios ; 
sixty-four  inscriptions  came  to  light,  of  wliich  fourteen  have  per- 
ished ;  the  others  were  removed  to  the  Museo  Borgia  at  Velletri 
(now  in  the  Museo  Nazionale,  Naples),  to  that  of  Palermo,  of  the 
Vatican,  etc.  A  few  are  to  be  seen  on  the  spot.  (Corpus  Inscr., 
vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  968,  u.  5679-5743.) 

The  three  columbaria  now  visible  in  the  Vigna  Codini  (entrance 
Via  di  Porta  S.  Sebastiano,  No.  l-S,  last  door  on  the  left)  were  dis- 
covered respectively  in  1S40,  1847,  and  1853;  the  first  and  the  sec- 
ond by  Pietro  Campaua,  the  third  by  Codini  himself.  The  colum- 
barium opened  in  1840  consists  of  one  room  deep  under  ground, 
and  accessible  by  a  flight  of  twenty  steps.  It  measures  7.50  by  5.65 
metres,  and  has  a  massive  pier  in  the  centre,  to  which  the  weight 
of  the  vaulted  ceiling  was  intrusted.  The  ancient  walls,  6.24 
metres  high,  were  covered  with  frescoes  and  arabesques  represent- 
ing birds  and  animals.  The  room  contains  450  pigeonholes  for 
cinerary  urns,  and  'J97  inscriptions,  dating  inostly  from  the  time 
of  Tiberius  and  Claudius.  They  afford  nuich  interest  to  the 
student  of  Roman  auti(|uities,  and  tlu'ow  a  considerable  light  on 
the  organization  and  nninagement  of  the  Imperial  household. 

The  trade  in  pigeonholes  and  cinerary  urns  appears  to  have 
been  very  brisk.  The  iii'ns  passed  sometimes  through  several 
hands.  One,  marked  n.  4884  in  the  "  Corpus,"  was  sold  by  Porcius 
Philargurus  to  Pinarius  Ruf  us,  who  in  his  turn  sold  it  to  Sotericus 
Liicer.  Pinarius  Rufus  is  mentioned  more  than  once  as  an  active 
stock-jobber,  selling  at  a  profit  what  he  had  purchased  at  low 
price.  It  appears  that  to  facilitate  the  approach  to  the  upper  rows 
of  niches  —  there  are  nine  in  all  —  the  tomb  was  provided  with 
movable  wooden  balconies,  supported  by  wooden  brackets ;  this  is, 
at  least,  the  explanation  suggested  for  the  square  holes  visible 
between  the  fourth  and  the  fifth  row.  Inscription  n.  4886  com- 
memorates a  buffoon  of  Tiberius,  a  mute,  wdio  tried  to  divert  the 
gloomy  temper  of  his  master  by  imitating  the  gesticulations  of 
lawyers  pleading  in  the  Forum.  Another,  marked  5076,  contains 
the  fragment  of  a  diary  of  a  journey  from  the  borderland  of  Cilicia 
towards  Cassarea  in  Cappadocia.     The  dates  go  from  the  12th  to 


THE    COLUMBARIA    OF   THE    VIGNA    CODINI 


331 


the  19tli  of  October,  during  which  time  the  traveler  proceeds  from 
Mopsuki-ene,  a  frontier  station  near  the  Cilician  gates,  to  Tyana 
and  Audabalis  on  the  side  of  Caesarea,  a  distance  of  seventy-seven 
miles,  according  to  the  "  Itinerary  of  Antoninus,"  or  of  eighty- 
one  miles,  according  to  the  Hierosolymitanum. 

Literature.  —  Pietro  Campana,  D'l  due  sepolcrl  romani  del  secolo  di  Au- 
gusto,  Tparte  seconda.  Rome,  1840.  —  Emil  Braun,  Colomhario  scopei-to  nella 
vigna  accanto  a  porta  Latina  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1840,  p.  136).  —  Otto  Jahn,  Speci- 
men epigraphiciim.  Kiel,  1841,  p.  28.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  926,  n. 
4881-5178. 

The  second  columbarium  was  discovered  by  Campana  in  Febru- 
ary, 1847,  not  far  from  the  preceding  one.  It  consists  of  a  plain 
square  room,  with  nine  rows  of  pigeonholes  in  each  wall,  num- 
bering 29.5  in  all,  with  over  400  funereal  tablets.  Four  inscrip- 
tions (one  of  which  is  written  on  the  floor  in  letters  of  mosaic) 
tell  the  tale  of  the  place.  The  columbarium  was  finished  and  the 
urns  divided  among  the  shareholders  of  the  company  which  had 
built  the  place  in  the  year  a.  d.  10,  under  the  consulship  of  Sergius 
Lentulus  Malugiuensis  and  Q.  Junius  Blajsus.  The  pavement  was 
a  private  contribution  of  two  shareholders,  one  a  freedman  of 
Sextus  Pompeius,  son  of  Pompey  the  Great,  the  other  a  freedman 
of  C.  Memmius.  The  majority  of  those  whose  ashes  have  found 
rest  in  this  room  belong  to  the  servants  and  freedmen  of  Marcella 
the  elder,  who  married  Julius  Antonius  after  her  divorce  with  M. 
Agrippa  (21  b.  c.)  ;  and  of  Marcella  the  younger,  who  had  also 
married  twice,  first  Paullus  ^Emilius  Lepidus,  and  then  M.  Vale- 
rius Messalla.  Annexed  to  the  columbaria  were  the  iistrina,  or 
spaces  set  apart  for  the  incineration  of  bodies.  The  indications 
on  this  particular  given  by  the  inscribed  stones  allow  us  to  recon- 
struct a  fragment  of  the  plan  of  the  necropolis,  as  follows  :  — 

Laue  (via,  populus). 


(No  measure  xiiij  ft.  xviii.  ft. 

given.) 

Ustrinuin  of     ,  jj  Ustrinuni  of  ^       Ustrinum  of  the 

the  College  of  I_b,  Vitalis  and  UJ"        corporation  of 

Musicians.       rg  Praepusa.  '«       wreath-makers. 


Ustrinum 

of  the  makers 

of  sacks. 


Lane  (via,  populus). 


Literature. — Wilhelm  Henzeii,  Bull.  Iitgf.,  1847,  p.  49  ;   and  Ann.  Inst.. 
1856,  p.  9.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  908,  n.  4414-4880. 


332  UUBS    SACRA   REG  ION  UM   XI V 

The  third  and  last  columbarium  was  discovered  by  Gio.  Battista 
Guidi  ill  May,  1852.  The  shape  of  the  edifice  differs  considerably 
from  that  of  the  preceding  ones,  and  presents  the  appearance  of 


Fig.  128.  — The  Colmnb.irimu  diseovei'ed  in  tlie  Vigua  Codiiii,  Ma}',  185'2. 

a  corridor  the  three  wings  of  which  follow  each  other  at  right 
angles.  The  stairs  occupy  the  end  of  the  wing  parallel  with  the 
Via  Appia,  while  the  opposite  wing  terminates  with  a  crypt  exca- 


THE    COLUMBARIA    OF   THE    VIGNA    COD  INI         333 

vated  in  the  live  rock.  The  bones  and  skulls  which  filled  it  up  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  were  considered  to  belong  to  slaves 
of  the  lowest  order,  whose  remains  had  been  thrown  into  the  den 
as  if  they  were  carrion.  The  walls  of  the  corridor  are  divided 
into  compartments  by  means  of  pilasters  with  capitals  of  the 
composite  order  (Fig.  128).  The  niches  for  cineraria  are  not 
arched,  as  usual,  but  square,  and  contain  four  urns  each.  The 
characteristic  of  this  "  cooperative  tomb,"  so  evident  in  our  illus- 
tration, is  a  set  of  marble  brackets  which  project  from  the  walls 
between  the  fourth  and  fifth  row  of  niches,  counting  from  tlie 
floor.  They  were  destined  to  support  the  temporary  wooden  bal- 
cony by  means  of  which  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased 
could  reach  the  upper  tiers  of  niches  on  anniversary  days,  when 
the  urns  were  decorated  with  flowers,  libations  were  offered,  and 
other  ceremonies  were  performed.  This  sepulchral  chamber  ap- 
pears to  have  been  tenanted  by  a  better  and  wealthier  set  of  people 
than  the  otlier  two.  INIany  were  freedmen  of  the  ,Tulian  dynasty 
from  the  age  of  Augustus  and  Livia  to  that  of  Claudius.  The 
last  places  seem  to  have  been  occupied  under  the  last-named 
Emperor.  The  room  was  entered  again  under  Trajan  and  Ha- 
drian, and  a  few  liberti  Ulpii  and  vElii  laid  to  rest  on  the  only 
vacant  space  left,  viz.,  on  the  floor.  This  has  been  more  or  less 
the  fate  of  all  Roman  columbaria.  It  seems  that  at  one  time, 
towards  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  no  more  room  could  be 
found  within  reasonable  distance  from  the  city  for  the  erection  of 
sepulchral  chambers,  or  else  that  the  price  of  land  had  reached  a 
prohibitory  figure  above  the  means  of  the  poorer  classes.  Old 
columbaria  were  therefore  reopened,  as  res  nullius,  and  new  corpses 
crammed  within  their  precincts.  I  remember  having  seen  in  the 
excavations  of  the  necropolis  by  the  Porta  Maggiore  one  or  two 
columbaria  of  the  Statilian  family,  which  had  been  used  again  as 
a  burial-place  when  their  pavement  was  already  covered  by  a  bed 
of  rubbish  tliree  feet  thick.  Some  of  the  terra-cotta  coffins  had 
been  simply  laid  on  this  newly  made  ground,  other  bodies  liad  been 
buried  in  it. 

Literature.  —  Emil  Braun,  Bull.  Inst.,  1852,  p.  82.  —  Wilhelm  Hen- 
zen,  Annal.  Inst.,  185G,  p.  18. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  9;i9,  ii.  5179- 
5538. 

In  the  triangle  between  the  vife  Latina  and  Appia  and  the  walls 
of  Aurelian,  in  fact,  in  the  vigne  Sassi  and  Codini  alone,  15.59 
tombstones  have  already  been  found,  not  counting  those  of  the 


334  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

Scipios,  one  twentieth  perhaps  of  the  oi'iginal  number.     The  ex- 
ploration is  far  from  being  complete. 

Before  leaving  this  conspicuous  section  of  the  Ronian  necropolis 
I  must  mention  two  monuments  which  connect  it  with  the  early 
days  of  Christianity. 

While  Pietro  Campana  was  searching  the  ground  in  his  fii'st 
attempt  of  1840,  a  cubiculum  was  discovered  the  paintings  of 
which  represented  Biblical  scenes.  The  Pastor  Bonus  was  given 
the  place  of  honor  in  the  middle  of  the  vault,  while  Moses  striking 
the  rock,  the  feeding  the  five  thousand,  the  raising  of  Lazarus, 
and  a  fourth  uncertain  subject  were  painted  on  the  four  lunettes. 
Three  sides  of  the  room  were  occupied  by  arcosolia,  the  fourth  by 
the  door.  The  paintings  of  the  arcosolia  represented  the  "  Orante  " 
(a  woman  praying  with  hands  raised),  Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions, 
Noah  and  the  ark.  The  figures  of  the  paralytic  and  of  Job  were 
represented  on  each  side  of  the  door.  Two  inscriptions  were 
found  in  front  of  two  arcosolia,  one  of  which,  written  in  a  patois 
half  Greek  half  Latin,  bore  the  name  of  a  Veratius  Nikatoras 
(BHPAT10T2  NIKATOPA2)  and  ended  with  the  sentence,  O  BIOS 
TATTA,  "  this  is  life,"  vita  hoc  est !  This  Veratius  was  a  Galatian, 
as  is  proved  by  the  discovery  made  by  George  Perrot  near  Ancyra 
of  the  tombstone  of  his  wife,  which  ends  with  the  same  words, 
o  fiios  ravTa.  Now  it  seems  certain  that  this  particular  plot  of  the 
necro[)olis  was  destined  for  foreigners  who  died  in  Rome.  De 
Rossi  discovered  here  in  1883  the  broken  epitaph  of  one  of  the 
faithful  from  Smyrna,  and  Campana  the  tombstone  of  another 
from  the  borderland  of  Cappadocia  and  Armenia.  The  impor- 
tance of  the  discovery  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  crypt  adorned  with 
Christian  paintings  must  be  older  than  the  walls  of  Aurelian 
(272),  contemporary,  in  fact,  with  some  of  the  pagan  mausoleums 
by  which  it  is  surrounded.  This  remarkable  monument  is  lost. 
Campana  concealed  its  discovery  from  De  Rossi,  and  revealed  it 
only  many  years  aftei'wards,  when  he  had  lost  the  memory  of  its 
exact  position.     De  Rossi  tried  in  vain  to  rediscover  it  in  1884. 

Literature.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Bull,  crist.,  1884-85,  pp.  57,  58;  and 
1886,  pp.  14,  17. — Raffaele  Garrucci,  Monumenti  del  museo  lateran.,  pi.  1, 
n.  3;  and  Arte  cristiana,  tav.  484,  10. — Compare,  also,  Gian  Pietro  Secchi, 
Monumenti  inediti  d'  nn  antico  sepolcro.     Rome,  Salviucci,  1843. 

The  second  Christian  monument  of  this  region  is  to  be  found 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Yigna  Sassi,  under  the  farmhouse  of 
the  Vigna  Pallavicini.     Mariano  Armellini  rediscovered  it  in  1875, 


THE    C^LIAN    HILL  335 

all  traces  of  it  having  been  lost  since  the  days  of  Agiucourt.  It 
is  an  ancient  crj^jt  dedicated  to  Gabriel  the  archangel,  and  also  to 
the  memory  of  the  "  seven  sleepers  "  of  Ephesus.  It  was  entirely 
covered  with  frescoes  representing  Gabriel  with  his  hands  raised 
in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  the  Redeemer  among  hosts  of  angels, 
Greek  saints  of  both  sexes,  and  seven  tiny  reclining  figures  under 
that  of  the  Saviour,  which  were  considered  to  be  the  '•  sette  dor- 
mienti."  The  frescoes  had  been  executed  in  the  eleventh  century 
at  the  expense  of  Beno  de  Rapiza  and  of  his  wife  ]\Iaria  Macellaria, 
the  same  to  whom  we  owe  the  paintings  of  S.  Clemente  and  of 
S.  Urbano  alia  CaffareUa.  It  seems  that  in  those  days  the  Greek 
legend,  which  had  transformed  the  "  sleep  of  the  just,"  the  "  dor- 
mitio  in  Domino,"  of  the  seven  young  Ephesians  into  an  actual 
state  of  catalepsy,  had  already  found  its  way  to  Rome,  and  struck 
the  imagination  of  the  people.  Tlieir  anniversary  feast  fell  on 
the  27th  day  of  July.  The  "  cavern  of  the  sleepers  "  is  now  used 
as  a  pig-sty. 

Literature.  —  Alberto  Cassio,  Corso  delle  acqtie  antiche,  Rome,  17-57,  p. 
28.  —  Dissertatio  de  SS.  septem  dormientihus.  Rome,  1741.  ^  Mariano  Avmel- 
liiii,  Scopertd  di  tin'  antico  oratono  presso  In  ria  Ajjpia  dedlcato  tdl'  arcungelo 
Gabriele.     Rome,  1875. 

ReGIO    II.       C.EMMOXTIUM. 

V.  The  C.ELIAN  Hill  was  named  Querquetulanus  in  the  early 
days  of  Rome,  from  the  trees  (quercioli,  oaks)  which  clothed  its 
eastern  slope,  as  the  opposite  or  western  slope  of  the  Esquiline 
was  named  Mons  Fagutalis  from  the  beeches  (fagi)  by  which  it 
was  shaded.  The  name  of  Cailian  was  subsequently  adopted  in 
memory  of  the  Etruscan  lucumo  Cieles.or  Cselius  Vibenna,  who 
had  settled  with  his  followers  on  the  hill  at  the  time  of  Servius 
Tullius.  An  attempt  was  made  under  Tiberius  to  change  the 
name  into  that  of  Mons  Augustus  because,  during  a  terrible  con- 
flagration in  the  year  a.  d.  27,  which  desti-oyed  hundreds  of  houses 
and  palaces,  the  only  object  respected  by  the  flames  was  a  statue 
of  the  Emperor  placed  in  the  vestibule  of  the  palace  of  the  Junii. 

A  spm-  of  the  hill,  crowned  by  a  shrine  of  Diana,  was  called 
Cseliolus,  or  minor  Cjelius.  Topographers  disagree  as  to  its  posi- 
tion. Ficoroni  and  otliers  place  it  at  the  Monte  d'  Oro,  Canina 
at  the  SS.  Quattro,  Brocchi  on  the  site  of  the  Villa  Wolkonsky, 
Nibby  on  the  site  of  S.  Gregorio.'  The  hill  and  the  spur  were 
included  in  the  first  region  of  Servius,  Suburana. 

1  Consult:   Stefano  Piale,  Delle  parte  meridioitall  di  Servio,  del  vera  sito 


336  UBBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

Augustus  in  his  reform  of  10-4  b.  c.  made  of  the  Cfelian  the 
second  region  of  the  city.  At  the  time  of  Constantine  it  con- 
tained 7  parishes  (vici),  3600  tenement  houses,  127  palaces,  85 
public  baths,  65  public  fountains,  and  15  bakeries.  The  most 
curious  feature  consisted  in  the  fact  of  its  being  at  the  same  time 
a  district  of  barracks  (with  the  customary  annexes,  drinking  and 
gambling  dens,  lupanaria,  etc.)  and  a  district  of  aristocratic 
palaces. 

VI.  The  Castra  C^limontana.  —  The  list  of  barracks 
includes  — 

A.  The  Castra  Equitum  Singularium,  a  select  body  of 
horsemen,  who,  like  our  life-guards,  cent-gardes,  or  cuirassiers 
du  roi,  were  employed  in  the  personal  service  of  the  Emperor. 
They  were  lodged  in  two  splendid  barracks,  the  castra  vetera 
and  the  castra  nova.  The  first  were  discovered  between  1885  and 
1887  in  the  Via  Tasso,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Villa  Giustiniani ; 
the  second  in  1733  and  1734,  in  the  foundations  of  the  Cappella 
Corsini  at  the  Lateran.  Both  barracks  were  magnificently  deco- 
rated with  statues,  busts,  altars,  and  works  of  art  of  every  de- 
scription, among  which  were  the  Bacchus  in  the  Maraini  House, 
illustrated  by  Visconti  in  "  Bull,  com.,"  1886,  p.  166,  pi.  6,  and 
the  marble  seat  in  the  Corsini  Library,  considered  to  have  been 
chiseled  by  a  Greek  artist.  The  equites  singulares  were  sub- 
stituted for  the  old  German  bodyguard  (collegium  Germanorum, 
Germani  corporis  custodes)  about  the  time  of  the  Flavians,  and 
were  likewise  recruited  among  the  semi-barbarians  of  the  estuary 
of  the  Rhine  and  of  the  Lower  Danube,  the  Thracians  being  pre- 
ferred to  all  other  nationalities.  The  regiment,  one  thousand 
sti-ong,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  the  prcefectus  prcetorio. 

Literature.  — Wilhelm  Henzen,  Ann.  Inst.,  1850,  p.  5;  and  1885,  p.  235.— 
Theodor  Mommsen,  Ephem.  epir/r.,  vol.  v.  p.  233;  Hermes,  vol.  xvi.  p.  459,  4; 
and  KorrespondenzUaU  der  Westdeutschen  Zeitschrift,  1886,  pp.  50,  123. — 
Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1885,  p.  37;  1886,  p.  94;  and  Notizie 
Scavi,  1885,  p.  524;  1886,  pp.  12,  48;  1887,  p.  139;  1888,  p.  566.  —  Orazio 
Marucchi,  Btdl.  arch,  com.,  1886,  p.  124.  — Carlo  Ludovico  Visconti,  BiiU. 
arch,  com.,  1886,  p.  166,  pi.  6.—  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  224-228,  and  p.  766, 
n.  3173-3323.  — Francesco  Ficoroni,  Memorie  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i. 
n.  46). 

B.  The  Castra  Peregrinorum.  —  AVhatever  may  have  been 

del  Celiolo.     Rome,  1824.  — Bunsen,  etc.,  Beschreibung,  >,  p.  478.  — Antonio 
Nibby.  Roma  antica,  A'ol.  i.  p.  19. 


THE    BARRACKS    OF    THE    C^ELIAN  337 

the  original  scope  of  the  institution  of  a  special  body  of  men  called 
milites  perefjrini  (foreigners)  and  of  their  associates  the  milites 
fruvientarii  (coanmissariat),  tliere  is  no  doubt  that  towards  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century  after  Christ  the  peregrin!  per- 
formed the  duties  of  the  modern  gendarmes  or  carabinieri,  while 
the  frumentarii  had  become  secret  police  agents  or  detectives. 
They  were  employed  to  carry  disx^atches,  to  act  as  spies  and 
informers,  and  to  make  arrests.  The  biographer  of  Hadrian  says 
that  he  knew  all  the  secrets  of  the  Imperial  household  and  of  his 
friends  with  the  help  of  the  frumentarii :  "  per  frumentarios 
omnia  occulta  explorabat "  (Vita  Iladriaui,  c.  6).  They  were  the 
chief  agents  in  the  persecutions  of  the  Christians,  as  described  by 
Cyprianus  and  Jerome.  Prisoners  of  state  were  also  intrusted 
to  their  custody ;  Cnodomer,  king  of  the  Germans,  made  prisoner 
in  the  battle  of  Strasburg  and  brought  to  Rome,  is  said  to  have 
died  "  in  castris  peregrinis,  qua-  in  Monte  Cselio  sunt."  The  fru- 
mentarii and  the  peregrin!  were  commanded  by  an  officer  called 
"  princeps."  The  body  was  suppressed  by  Diocletian  as  "  pestilen- 
tial "  and  replaced  by  another  called  agentes  in  rebus. 

The  barracks  were  placed  in  the  neighborhood  of  S.  Maria  in 
Dominica,  but  we  do  not  know  exactly  where.  In  March,  1848, 
an  inscription  describing  the  baths  of  the  barracks  was  discovered 
in  situ,  but  Matranga,  who  illustrated  it  in  the  "  Bull.  Inst."  of  the 
same  year,  p.  39,  keeps  the  secret  of  the  find  to  himself,  and  only 
mentions  in  general  terms  "  una  vigna  rimpetto  S.  Maria  in  Navi- 
cella."  The  barracks  were  discovered  partly  about  15.50,  partly 
under  the  pontificates  of  Innocent  X.  (1644-55)  and  Clement  X. 
(1670-76).  Ligorio  (Torin.,  vol.  xv.  p.  127)  describes  them  as 
divided  into  two  sections  or  quadrangles  (one  for  the  frumentarii, 
one  for  the  peregrini?),  and  as  occupying  the  space  between  the 
aqueduct  of  Nero,  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  and  la  Navicella.  Holste- 
nius  places  them  between  the  aqueduct,  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  and 
the  hospital  of  S.  Giovanni,  and  describes  one  of  the  rectangles  as 
lined  with  cells,  flanked  by  towers  and  walls  1.20  metre  thick,  and 
containing  in  the  middle  of  the  court  a  round  temple  with  columns 
of  porphyry  and  oriental  granite.  The  works  of  art,  statues,  and 
busts  discovered  in  the  excavations  of  1550  were  probably  removed 
to  the  house  of  Ascanio  Magarozzi,  where  Ulisse  Aldovi-andi  saw- 
and  described  them  in  15.53.  The  account  which  approaches  near- 
est the  truth,  and  settles  the  question  of  site,  is  jjerhaps  that  of 
Pietro  Sante  Bartoli  (Mem.  55).  He  says  that  under  Innocent  X. 
and  Clement  X.  great  excavations  were  made  in  the  garden   of 


338  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV- 

Teofilo  Sartori,  Via  di  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  viz.,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  military  hospital  (Villa  Casali) ;  that  rows  of  cells  {ima 
filara  di  botteghe)  were  uncovered  pertaining  to  the  Castra  Pere- 
grina,  as  well  as  great  halls  and  mess-rooms,  com-ts  lined  with 
colonnades,  the  shafts  of  which  were  of  "bellissima  breccia," 
statues,  busts,  heads,  and  various  ornaments  of  metal  incrusted 
with  silver,  which  Bartoli  thinks  belonged  to  a  triumphal  arch. 
Here  also  was  found  the  pedestal  (Corpus,  vi.  231)  dedicated  genio 

SANCTO  CASTRORVM  PEKEGRINORVM. 

Literature.  —  Pin-o  Ligorio,  Cod.  torin.,  xv.  p.  127.  —  Lucas  Holstenius, 
Cod.  vatic,  9141.  —  P.  Sante  Bartoli,  Mem.  55  (in  Fea's  MiscelL,  voL  i.  p. 
ccxxxv.).  —  Willielm  Heuzen,  Bull.  Inst.,  1851,  p.  113.  —  Pietro  Matranga, 
Bull.  Inst.,  1849,  p.  .34.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Le  stazioni  delle  coortl  del 
Vif/ili,  ]).  28;  and  La  basilica  di  S.  Stefano  rotondo,  etc.,  p.  9  (in  Studii  e 
docuni.  di  storia  e  diritto,  vol.  vii.  1886). 

C.  Static  cohortis  v  vigilum  (barracks  of  the  fifth  battalion 
of  firemen  and  policemen),  on  the  platform  of  the  Villa  Celimon- 
tana,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Mattel  dukes  of  Giove,  and  now 
to  Baron  Richard  von  Hoffmann.  In  Januarjr,  1820,  two  marble 
pedestals  were  found  near  the  gate  of  the  villa,  standing  in  their 
original  position  on  a  tessellated  jjavement  which  formed  part  of 
the  vestibule.  The  rolls  of  the  battalion,  name  by  name,  were 
engraved  upon  them.  The  first  pedestal  had  no  dedicatory  inscrip- 
tion ;  the  second  (and  the  statue  upon  it)  were  offered  to  Caracalla 
in  the  year  210  by  C.  Julius  Quintilianus,  prefect  of  police,  M. 
Firmius,  adjutant-general,  L.  Speratius  Justus,  colonel  of  the  fifth 
battalion,  the  captains  commanding  the  seven  companies,  the  four 
physicians  and  sui'geons  attached  to  the  barracks,  etc.  The  last 
names  engraved  on  the  front  of  the  pedestal  are  those  of  the  cap- 
tain and  of  the  standard-bearer  of  the  first  company,  the  trustees 
of  the  fund  subscribed  towards  the  erection  of  the  statue.  The 
importance  of  these  two  documents,  however,  comes  from  the  I'oUs 
of  the  rank  and  file.  "  In  the  year  205,  which  is  the  approximate 
date  of  the  first  pedestal,  the  battalion  numbered  113  officers  and 
sub-officers,  and  930  men.  In  the  year  210  the  number  of  the 
former  had  decreased  to  109,  the  number  of  the  latter  had  increased 
to  1013.  Taking  as  the  average  strength  of  a  battalion  1033  men 
all  told,  the  whole  police  of  the  metropolis  must  have  numbered 
7231  men."  ^  The  pedestals  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Villa  Mattei 
at  the  entrance  of  the  celebrated  avenue  of  ilexes  between  the 
Casino  and  the  obelisk.  Luigi  Rossini  asserts  that  in  the  excava- 
1  Ancient  Home,  p.  228. 


THE   LATER AN  PALACE  339 

tions  of  1820  the  prison  of  the  barracks  was  also  found,  "  as  proved 
"by  the  chains  still  fixed  to  its  walls."  Students  are  kindly  allowed 
to  visit  the  Villa  Mattel  on  Thursdays. 

Literature.  —  Olaus  Kellermaun,  Vigilum  latercula  duo  ccelimmitana. 
Rome,  1835.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Le  stazioni  delle  sette  coorti  dei  Vigili, 
p.  27  (in  Anual.  Inst.,  1858).—  Corpus  Insci:,  vol.  vi.  n.  221,  222,  1057,  1058. 
—  P.  Saute  Bartoli,  Mem.  79  (in  Fea's  Miscell.,  vol.  i.  p.  ccxlii.).  —  Luigi 
Rossini,  /  sette  colli,  n.  1-3.     Rome,  1829. 

Connected  with  the  bari'acks  of  the  Cfelian  hill  were  the  Lupa- 
naria,  mentioned  in  the  catalogues  of  the  second  region,  probably 
a  state  establishment,  the  site  of  which  corresponds  with  that  of 
the  Vigna  Colacicchi,  as  shown  by  the  discovery  of  some  charac- 
teristic mosaic  pavements  made  there  in  1878. 

VII.  The  Palaces  ok  the  C.elian  :  — 

A.  DoMUS  Lateraxorum  —  Egkegi.e  Lateraxorum  .(Edes 
(Lateran  palace).  It  is  a  cm-rent  opinion  that  after  the  execution 
of  Plautius  Lateranus  in  a.  d.  66  for  his  share  in  the  plot  of  the 
Pisones,  his  magnificent  palace  on  the  Cselian  was  confiscated  by 
Nero,  and  the  grounds  were  added  to  the  Imperial  domain  of  the 
Domus  Aiirea.  No  classic  historian  speaks  of  such  a  confiscation ; 
on  the  contrary,  we  are  informed  by  one  of  them  that  T.  Sextius 
Lateranus,  consul  in  196,  was  offered  large  sums  of  money  by 
Septimius  Severus,  with  the  help  of  which  he  restored  the  paternal 
estate  on  the  Ctelian.  This  account  is  confirmed  by  the  discovery 
made  in  1.59.5  of  water-pipes  inscribed  with  the  names  of  Sextius 
Lateranus  and  of  his  brother  Torquatus.  Another  water-pipe, 
bearing  the  name  of  Mamnifea,  mother  of  the  Emperor  Severus 
Alexander,  found  among  the  ruins  of  the  palace  in  1890,  seems  to 
prove  that  the  palace  had  become  state  property  only  under  the 
rule  of  the  last  (a.  d.  222-23.5).  It  remained  so  until  the  time  of 
Constantine,  who  offered  part,  or  perhaj^s  the  whole,  of  it  to  Pope 
jNIiltiades  in  313 ;  this,  at  least,  is  the  date  of  a  council  of  bishops 
convened  in  the  palace  under  the  presidency  of  the  pope.  Perhaps 
it  was  only  a  case  of  a  loan,  as  we  find  the  palace  called  "  Domus 
Faustse,"  the  house  of  Fausta,  at  a  later  date.^  I  do  not  yet  under- 
stand clearly  myself  what  happened  in  those  days,  how  the  trans- 
ference of  property  from  the  Crown  to  the  Church  was  made,  and 
which  portion  was  transformed  into  a  Christian  basilica,  "  omnium 
ecclesiarum  urbis  et  orbis  mater  et  capiit."     The  difficulty  arises 

1  Fausta,  second  wife  of  Constantine,  was  smothered  by  her  husband's  order 
in  .326,  and  her  stepson  Crispus  was  executed  on  the  same  daj'. 


340  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

from  the  fact  that  the  area  of  the  basilica  is  cut  in  two  by  a 
Roman  street,  which  runs  parallel  with  the  transept  of  Clement 
VIII.  {nave  Clementina),  passes  under  the  canopy  of  Urban  V., 
and  leads  to  a  postern  in  the  walls  of  Aui'elian  still  visible  in  the 
garden  "  dei  Penitenzieri."  The  ruins  east  of  this  ancient  street 
are  "  oriented  "  with  it ;  those  on  the  other  side  form  an  angle  of 
31°.  There  were  therefore  two  distinct  and  independent  palaces, — 
one  on  each  side  of  the  street.  The  one  on  the  west  was  certainly 
tlie  palace  of  the  Laterans ;  the  one  on  the  east  might  possibly  be 
identified  with  the  "  castra  nova  equitum  singularium,"  epigraphic 
records  of  which  have  been  found  under  the  Corsini  chapel.  The 
nave  and  aisles  of  the  church  would  occupy  in  this  case  the  site  of 
one  of  the  courts  of  the  barracks ;  while  the  transept  and  the  apse 
woidd  occupy  the  site  of  the  atrium  of  the  palace.  I  need  not 
remind  the  reader  that  the  name  of  St.  John  the  Lateran  is  com- 
paratively recent,  the  basilica  having  been  dedicated  originally  to 
the  Redeemer  alone. 

Many  discoveries  have  taken  place  east  of  the  street  mentioned 
above.  In  1732  Alessandro  (ialilei,  the  architect  of  Clement  XII., 
whilst  building  the  new  facade,  found  walls,  cells,  water-pipes,  and 
other  remains.  In  the  following  year  the  excavations  extended  to 
the  site  of  the  cappella  Corsini,  and  to  the  vacant  space  between 
the  chapel  and  the  walls  of  the  city.  Splendid  remains  of  the 
barracks  and  of  their  annexes  were  found  everywhere,^  with  other 
sections  of  the  watei'-pipes  mentioned  before,  bearing  the  name  of 
M.  Opellius  Macrinus,  prefect  of  the  praetorium,  and  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  equites  singulares.  Other  walls,  decorated  with 
frescoes  of  no  special  value,  came  to  light  in  1838  in  the  founda- 
tions of  the  "  sala  capitolare  "  behind  the  Lancellotti  cliapel.  In 
style  of  masonry,  in  age,  and  in  direction  they  correspond  exactly 
to  the  remains  discovered  by  Rohault  de  Fleury  and  by  myself  in 
the  cellars  of  the  palace  of  the  pope  (Sixtus  V.)  on  the  other  side 
of  the  church. - 

More  important  are  the  finds  obtained  at  various  epochs  among 
the  remains  of  the  "  egregife  Lateranorum  sedes,"  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street.  Flavio  Biondo  describes  those  of  the  time  of 
Eugenius  IV.  (1431-47)  on  the  site  of  the  monastery,  west  of  the 

1  Literature.  —  See  p.  336  and  Eidolfino  Venuti,  Descriz.  di  Roma,  ed. 
1803,  p.  179. — Lupi,  Epitaph,  sanctce  Severce,  p.  43.  —  Francesco  Ficoroni, 
Gemmm  litteratce,  p.  126.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  22.5,  226. 

2  Emil  Braun,  Bull.  Inst.,  1838,  p.  6.  — Rohault  de  Fleury,  Le  Latran  au 
moyen  dr/e.     (Plan  general.)  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis,  pi.  xxxvii. 


THE    LATE RAN   PALACE 


341 


cloisters  of  Vassalectus  ;  and  speaks  of  halls  the  pavements  of  which 
were  5.34:  metres  lower  than  that  of  the  church,  of  colonnades, 
statues,  etc.  Flaminio  Vacca  says  that  when  Clement  VIII. 
removed  and  destroyed  in  1595  the  old  presbyterium  (un  certo 
rialzo  innanzi  al  coro),  three  large  niches  were  found,  pertaining 


342  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

to  an  "edifizio  antichissimo  e  nobilissimo,"  the  pavements  of  which 
were  incrusted  with  porphyry  and  serpentine.  Filippo  Martinucci 
discovered  in  1853  the  pavement  of  the  street  under  the  canopy  of 
Urban  V.,  as  related  above.  Costantino  Corvisieri  excavated  in 
1873  the  neighborhood  of  the  Baptistery.  Pius  IX.  and  Leo  XIII., 
whilst  destroying  the  Constantinian  apse  and  building  the  new 
one,  with  the  sacristry  and  the  chapter-house  (1877-90),  brought 
to  light  other  remains,  described  by  Stevenson  in  the  "  Annal. 
Inst.,"  1877,  pis.  R,  S,  T,  and  represented  in  the  above  view  (Fig. 
129).  I  have  tried  to  express  as  well  as  I  could  the  results  of  all 
these  excavations  in  sheet  No.  xxxvii.  of  the  "  Forma  Urbis." 
The  level  of  this  part  of  the  palace  was  7.50  metres  lower  than 
that  of  the  church. 

Nothing  is  left  visible  of  the  old  Constantinian  Basilica  except 
a  few  bits  of  the  walls  which  support  the  roof  of  the  nave.  When 
Borromini  inflicted  upon  the  nave  itself  the  present  hideous  trans- 
formation, and  encased  the  columns  dividing  the  nave  from  the 
aisles  in  a  coating  of  bricks,  he  left  patches  of  the  original  walls 
visible  in  a  set  of  oval  panels  between  the  windows.  The  ovals 
are  now  concealed  by  indifferent  paintings  on  canvas.  However, 
there  is  at  least  one  set  of  precious  relics  of  Constantine's  age 
which  has  escaped  destruction  but  not  transformation  :  I  refer  to 
the  four  large  fluted  bronze  columns  of  the  Corinthian  order  which 
adorn  the  Altare  del  Sacramento,  at  the  south  end  of  the  transept. 
The  guide-books  of  Rome  have  suggested  various  theories  about 
them,  the  current  belief  being  that  they  belonged  in  days  gone  by 
to  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus.  Others  contend  that  they 
were  cast  under  Augustus  with  the 'bronze  beaks  of  the  ships  cap- 
tured in  the  battle  of  Actium;  others  that  they  were  removed 
from  Solonion's  Temple,  etc.  The  columns  are  mentioned  for  the 
first  time  under  Constantine,  who  offered  them  to  the  Church  to  be 
used  as  "  pharocautharoi  "  ^  on  either  side  of  the  altar.  Clement 
VIII.  and  Pietro  Paolo  Olivieri,  his  architect,  found  them  seriously 
injured  and  without  capitals ;  Orazio  Censori,  the  pope's  brass- 
founder,  was  asked  therefore  to  make  a  tour  through  the  cities  of 
southern  Etruria  and  try  to  collect  antique  objects  of  bronze. 
Hundreds  of  tombs  must  have  been  rifled  of  their  invaluable 
treasures ;  at  Corneto  alone  Censori  gathered  665  pounds  of 
metal,  and  a  great  deal  more  at  Civita  Castellana  (Falerii).  The 
treasures  were  melted  together  with  pieces  of  the  bronze  beams 
of  the  Pantheon,  and  the  metal  was  employed  in  casting  three 
1  Lighthouses,  or  pillars  supporting  a  circle  of  lights  on  the  capitals. 


THE   LATE RAN  PALACE 


343 


capitals,  the  whole  cornice  and  pediment  of  the  altar,  sixteen 
doves,  sixteen  stars,  and  two  angels.  It  was  lucky  that  the  bronze 
masterpieces  formerly  in  the  Campus  Lateranensis  (Piazza  di  S. 
Giovanni)  had  been  removed  to  a  place  of  safety  since  the  times 
of  Sixtus  IV.  and  Paul  III.,  otherwise  they  would  probably  have 
shared  the  fate  of  the  bronzes  from  Tarquinii  and  Falerii. 

The  mediaeval  collection  of  bronzes  at  the  Lateran  comprised 
the  equestrian  statue  of  M.  Aurelius,  removed  by  Paul  III.  to  the 
Piazza  del  Campidogiio  in  1538 ;  the  she-wolf ;  the  colossal  hand 
with  the  globe ;  the  Zingara  or  Camillus ;  the  head  of  young 
Nero  (?),  removed  to  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori  by  Sixtus  IV. ; 
and  the  "  lex  regia,"  now  in  the  Capitoline  Museum.  The  follow- 
ing sketch  by  Martin  Heemskerk  represents  tlie  Campus  Late- 
ranensis about  1531,  with  the  statue  of  M.  Aurelius  in  its  proper 


Fig.  130.  —  Campus  Lateraneusis,  about  1534. 


place.  The  four  columns  in  the  foreground  supported  a  slab  of 
marble  wliich  was  thought  to  mark  the  height  of  the  Saviour. 
Heemskerk's  view  has  already  been  published  by  T.  Springer,  in 
1885.1 

Literature  for  the  Lateran  Palace.  —  Louis  Duchesne,  Le  liber 
pontijicalis,  vol.  i.  passim.  —  Rohault  de  Fleury,  Le  Lntran  au  moyen  age. 
Paris,  1877.  —  Giovanni  Ciampini,  De  saci-is  (Bdificiis  a  Constantino  magno 
extructis.  Rome,  1693.  —  Cesare  Rasponi,  Be  basilica  et  patriarchio  Late- 
ranensi.  Rome,  1656.  —  Nicola  Alemanni,  De  Lateranensibus  parietinis. 
Rome,  17.56. —  Eugene  MUntz,  Les  arts  a  la  cour  des  papes,  vol.  iii.  passim. 
—  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  Inst.,  1870,  p.  50  ;  and  Itinerario  di  Einsiedlen,  pp. 
70  and  102.  —  Enrico  Stevenson,   Scoperte  di  antichi  edijizi  al  Laterano  {in 

1  In  Gesammelte  Studien  zur  Kunstgeschichte  :  eineFestgabe  zum  iMai  1885. 
Fiir  Anton  Springer,  Leipzig,  1885. 


344  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

Annal.  Inst.,  1877);  and  Topogrnfia  e  momcmenti  dl  Roma  in-Ue piltnre  di  Sisto 
v.,  etc.,  plate  iv.  n.  2. 

The  bronzes  formerly  in  the  Lateran  are  illustrated  in  Annnl.  Inst.,  1877, 
p.  381.  —  Riim.  Mittheilimyen,  vol.  vi.  1891,  p.  14. — Refue  archeol.,  xliii. 
1882,  pp.  20,  28.  —  Wolfgang  Heli)ig,  Guide  to  the  Coll.  of  Class.  Antiquities, 
vol.  i.  p.  402,  n.  538  ;  p.  454,  n.  612,  etc. 

B.  DoMUS  Vectiliana,  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Emperor  Corn- 
modus,  whither  he  used  to  repair  when  sufteriug  from  insomnia, 
and  where  he  was  strangled  in  a.  d.  192.  Its  site  is  not  known, 
but  it  cannot  have  been  very  far  from  the  Lateran.  The  eques- 
trian statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  of  which  we  hear  for  the  first 
time  in  a.  d.  966  (when  Peter,  prefect  of  Rome,  was  hung  by  the 
hair  from  the  horse  for  his  rebellion  against  John  XIII.),  must 
have  come  from  this  Domus  Vectiliana.  The  house  was  certainly 
discovered  at  the  time  of  Ficoroni,  about  1735,  by  a  man  named 
Giuseppe  Mitelli,  but  the  site  of  the  excavation  is  indicated  only 
by  thev  ague  formula  "  nell'  estremita  del  Monte  Celio  "  (at  the 
extreme  point  of  the  Cselian  hill). 

The  family  of  M.  Aurelius  and  Commodus  was  closely  con- 
nected with  that  of  the  Annii.  Annia  Faustina  the  elder,  wife  of 
Antoninus  Pius  ;  Annia  Faustina  the  younger,  wife  of  M.  Aure- 
lius; Annia  Cornificia,  his  sister;  Annius  Verus,  his  son;  Annia 
Lucilla,  his  daughter,  have  made  the  name  illustrious  in  the 
annals  of  the  Empire.  By  a  singular  coincidence  we  find  a 
Domus  Anniorum  on  the  Cselian,  close  to  the  supposed  site  of 
the  Vectiliana  in  which  Commodus  was  assassinated.  One  of 
the  new  streets  of  the  Cselian,  the  Via  Annia,  has  been  named 
from  it.  The  house  is  distinctly  mentioned  by  the  biographer  of 
M.  Aurelius,  chapter  i. :  "  Marcus  was  born  on  the  Cselian  hill,  in 
the  family  villa  (Jiurti)  in  the  year  (a.  d.  121)  in  which  his  grand- 
father Annius  Verus  was  consul  with  Augur.  .  .  .  He  was  educated 
in  the  villa  in  which  he  was  born,  as  well  as  in  the  palace  of  his 
grandfather,  near  that  of  the  Laterans."  The  palace  of  Annius 
Verus  was  discovered  for  the  last  time  in  1885-87,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  military  hospital  (Villa  Casali). 

LiTEUATURE.  — 5m?Z.  arch.  com.,  1885,  pp.  95,  104,  166,  175,  176-;  1866,  pp. 
50,  93,  109,  278,  342,  369,  405  ;  1887,  pp.  27,  bl.—Notizie  derjli  Scavi,  1885-89, 
passim.     See  index.  Villa  Casali. 

C.  Domus  Tetricorum.  —  C.  Pesuvius  Tetricus,  one  of  the 
"  thirty  tyrants,"  and  the  last  secessionist  ruler  of  Gaul  (a.  d. 
267-274),  was  defeated  by  Aurelian  at  the  battle  of  Chalons,  and 
obliged  to  grace  the  triumph  of  the  conqueror  with  his  presence. 


THE   PALACE    OF    THE    VALERU  345 

After  the  tiiuiuph  he  was  treated  with  kindness  and  distinction 
by  Aurelian.  The  biographer  who  wrote  the  "  Tyranni  Triginta  " 
in  the  first  decade  of  the  fourth  century  says,  "  The  palace  of  the 
Tetrici,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  city,  is  still  to  be  seen  on 
the  Cailian,  in  the  street  called  '  inter  duos  lucos,'  oi^posite  the 
Temple  of  Isis  Metellina."  The  site  was  indicated  in  the  Middle 
Ages  by  a  church  of  8.  Maria  inter  duo  or  inter  duas,  which  stood 
in  the  valley  between  the  Ctelian  and  the  Esquiline  (cf.  Armellini, 
Chiese,  p.  1-10). 

1).  DoMiT.s  Valekiorum.  —  There  was  on  the  Cselian,  between 
IS.  .Stefano  Kotondo  and  the  Lateran,  a  palace  belonging  to  the 
descendants  of  the  Valerii  Poplicohv,  namely,  to  Valerius  Severus, 
prefect  of  Konie  in  a.  d.  ;58(J,  and  to  his  son  Pinianus,  husband  of 
Melania  the  younger.  The  palace  was  so  beautiful,  and  contained 
so  much  wealth,  that  when  Pinianus  and  Melania,  grieved  by  the 
loss  of  all  their  children,  put  it  up  for  sale  in  404,  they  found  none 
willing  to  X3urchase  it :  "  ad  tarn  magnum  et  mirabile  opus  acce- 
dere  nemo  ausus  fecit."  Seven  or  eight  years  after  the  capture  of 
Rome  by  Alaric,  August,  410,  the  same  palace  was  given  away  for 
little  or  nothing,  "  domus  pro  nihilo  venumdata  est,"  having  been 
"  dissipata  et  quasi  incensa  "  by  the  barbarians.  There  must  be 
some  inaccuracy  in  this  account,  which  Commendatore  de  Rossi 
has  found  in  a  MS.  of  the  library  of  Chartres.  In  the  first  place, 
a  considerable  part  of  the  j^i'operty  was  transformed  into  a  hos- 
pice and  a  hospital  under  the  title  of  "  Xenodochium  Valeriorum  " 
or  "  a  Valeriis,"  which  flourished  until  the  ninth  century,  and  the 
transformation  must  have  been  the  work  of  Pinianus  himself  and 
not  of  an  outsider.  In  the  second  place,  the  house  w^as  discovered 
in  1554,  1561,  and  1711  in  such  a  wonderful  state  of  preservation 
that  we  must  exculpate  the  Goths  from  the  charge  of  having  pil- 
laged and  gutted  it  in  410.  The  account  of  the  find  sounds  like  a 
fairy  tale.  When  the  workmen  entered  the  atrium  of  the  palace 
in  the  first  excavations  of  1554  and  1561,  the  deeds  and  records  of 
the  family,  engraved  on  bronze  tablets,  still  hung  to  the  columns 
of  the  peristyle.  The  tablets  contained  mostly  decrees  in  honor  of 
the  Valerii,  or  treaties  of  friendship  witli  their  house  passed  by  the 
corporations  of  Zama,  Hadrumetum,  Thenae,  and  other  cities  of 
Africa.  Four  pedestals  of  statues  dedicated  to  Valerius  Aradius 
by  the  corporations  of  the  grocers,  bakers,  etc.,  were  discovered 
under  the  portico.  The  excavations  were  stopped  perhaps  for 
fear  of  undermining  the  church  and  the  monastery  of  S.  Erasmus, 
or  whatever  was  left  standing  of  this  celebrated  abbey,  the  medi- 


346  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

reval  representative  of  the  old  Xenodochium  a  Valeriis.  Under 
the  pontificate  of  Innocent  X.  (1644-55),  when  no  traces  were  left 
of  S.  Erasmo,  the  atrium  of  the  jaalace  was  entered  again,  and 
seven  "  bellissime  statue  "  were  brought  to  light,  among  them  two 
fauns  dancing  to  the  sound  of  the  Kp6Ta\a ;  they  were  purchased 
by  Monsignor  Mazarino.  The  experiment  was  tried  again  under 
Clement  X.  (1670-76)  with  equal  success.  Bartoli  mentions 
statues  and  busts,  among  them  two  of  Lucius  Verus  bought  by 
Cardinal  de  Bouillon ;  the  group  of  Cvipid  and  Psyche,  now  in  the 
Galleria  degli  Uffizi ;  the  finest  specimens  of  fresco  paintings  ever 
seen  in  Rome;  columns  of  rare  breccias;  and  the  bronze  lamp 
representing  a  ship  with  the  figure  of  our  Lord  at  the  helm,  also 
in  the  L^ffizi  at  Florence. 

Literature. —  Corpus  Jnscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1684-94.  —  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli, 
Mem.  53,  54  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  ccxxx.).  —  Pietro  Bellori,  Lucerne 
antiche,  p.  11.  —  Gio.  Batt.  de  Rossi,  II  monastero  di  S.  Erasmo  e  la  casa  dei 
Valerii  sul  Celio  (in  Studi  e  docum.  di  Storia  e  Diritto.  vol.  vii.  1886;  and 
Bull,  com.,  1890,  p.  288).  —  Giacomo  Lumbroso,  Notizie  di  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo. 
Torino,  1875,  p.  50. 

E.  DoMus  Philippi,  probably  of  the  Emperor  M.  Julius  Phi- 
lippus  (a.  d.  244-249),  which  he  must  have  acquired  while  prefect 
of  the  Prsetorium.  The  only  clue  in  regard  to  its  position  is 
given  by  an  altar  (Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  150)  dedicated  by  a  "  servus 
Philipporum  "  to  a  local  spring,  which  was  found  in  the  slope  of 
the  Villa  Mattel,  towards  the  Marrana.  Near  the  same  place  a 
statue  was  discovered  in  1747  representing  a  hunter  with  a  hare 
in  the  right  hand,  which  Ennio  Quirino  Visconti  attributes  to  the 
age  of  the  Philippi.  The  statue,  signed  by  the  artist  (Polytimvs 
lib),  is  now  exhibited  in  the  Capitoline  Museum. 

Literature. — Fieoroni,  Mem.  91  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  clxiii.). 
—  E.  Quirino  Visconti,  Catnlogo  del  museo  Jenlcins,  p.  22.  —  Pierre  Aube,  Le 
Christianisme  de  I'emp.  Philippe  (in  Revue  arch.,  vol.  ix.  1880,  p.  140).  — 
Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide  to  the  Collections  (^Antiquities,  vol.  i.  p.  370,  n.  506 
(27). 

F.  DoMus  L  •  Marii  •  Maximi,  discovered  in  February,  1708, 
in  the  Villa  Fonseca.  It  contained  the  pedestals  of  statues  (Cor- 
pus Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1450,  1451)  dedicated  to  him,  the  first  by 
an  officer  of  the  third  legion,  Cyrenaica ;  the  second  by  a  friend, 
Pompeius  Alexander.  Other  pedestals  from  the  same  noble  man- 
sion are  described  by  the  "  Corpus,"  n.  1452,  145.3. 

G.  DoMus  OF  THE  Symmachi,  discovered  in  1617  in  the  gar- 
den of  Sartorio  Teofili,  afterwards  included  in  the  Villa  Casali. 


THE   PALACE    OF   THE   SYMMACHT  347 

L.  Aiirelius  Avianius  Symmachus,  the  great  scholar,  statesman, 
and  orator  of  the  latter  half  of  the  fourth  century,  proconsul  of 
Africa  in  373,  prefect  of  the  city  in  381-386,  consul  in  391,  speaks 
of  this  paternal  house  on  the  Cselian  in  Ejiist.  18  of  Book  vii. : 
"  de  Formiano  regressus  in  Larem  C«lium."  Compare  Epist.  iii. 
12,  88.  Although  constantly  exposed  to  danger  and  disgrace,  as 
leader  of  the  pagan  side  of  the  Senate,  he  never  diverged  from 
his  path.  Having  been  delegated  by  the  House  in  382  to  remon- 
strate with  the  Emperor  Gratian  on  the  removal  of  the  altar  of 
Victory  from  their  council  hall,  and  on  the  curtailment  of  the 
sums  annually  allowed  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Vestal  Virgins, 
he  was  ordered  by  the  indignant  Emperor  to  withdraw  from  his 
presence  and  to  i-etire  to  his  villa  at  Formije ;  and  yet,  two  years 
later,  we  find  him  prefect  of  Rome,  and  engaged  in  rebuilding 
with  unusual  magnificence  the  bridge  now  called  Ponte  Sisto  (see 
p.  24).  Among  the  objects  discovered  in  the  excavations  of  1617 
we  find  the  pedestal  of  a  statue  dedicated  to  him  by  his  own  son, 
and  a  second  set  up  in  honor  of  his  father-in-law  Virius  Nico- 
machus  Flavianus,  another  great  leader  of  the  pagan  faction.  The 
ruins  were  searched  again  in  1885-87. 

I  do  not  remember  having  ever  seen  such  a  scene  of  devastation 
as  that  presented  by  the  remains  of  this  palace  of  the  Symmachi 
and  of  the  Nicomachi.  Columns,  pedestals,  statues  seem  to  have 
been  purposely  hammered  and  ground  into  atoms.  The  headless 
female  statue  of  gray  basalt,  now  in  Hall  V  of  the  Museo  ]\Iunici- 
pale  al  Celio,  was  put  together  by  us  in  1896  out  of  seventy-four 
pieces.  If  we  remember  that  basalt  was  a  worthless  material  to 
the  destroyers  of  ancient  Rome,  unfit  for  the  lime-kiln  and  too 
hard  to  be  worked  anew,  we  must  find  another  reason  for  their 
treating  that  noble  figure  so  wantonly.  The  explanation  is  given, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  by  the  discovery  of  another  statue  broken 
into  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  pieces,  which  represented  the  Vic- 
tory. When  the  pagan  faction  was  put  down  forever  at  the  battle 
of  September  6,  394,  in  which  the  usurper  Eugenius  and  Nico- 
machus  Flavianus  lost  their  lives,  the  recollection  of  the  duel 
fought  before  Valentinian  II.  and  Theodosius,  between  S.  Ambrose 
on  the  Christian  and  Symmachus  on  the  pagan  side,  on  account 
of  the  statue  of  Victory,  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 
No  wonder  that,  on  hearing  the  news  of  the  battle,  and  of  the 
decisive  collapse  of  the  party  led  by  the  Symmachi  and  by  the 
Nicomachi,  the  populace  should  have  pillaged  their  palace  on 
the  Cfelian  and  satisfied  their  desire  for  vengeance. 


348 


URBS   SACRA   REG  I  ON  UM  XIV 


From  this  point  of  view  the  statue,  which  we  have  recalled  to 
life  out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  fragments,  and  exhibited  in 
the  Hall  II  of  the  above-named  museum,  is  one  of  the  great  his- 
torical monuments  of  the  fourth  century. 

Literature. —  Corpus  Jnscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1699,  1782.  —  Angelo  Mai,  Script, 
vett.  nova  collectio,  vol.  i.  append,  pp.  xviii.-xxiv.  —  Morel,  in  Revue  archeoL, 
June,  1868.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  pp.  162-173. 

H.  The  House  of  SS.  John  axd  Paul.  —  This  house  and 
the  church  (Titulus  Byzantis,  Titulus  Pammachii)  built  upon  it 
at  a  later  period  are  given  a  place  of  honor  in  early  itineraries  of 
pilgrims  because  they  contained  the  only  martyr's  tomb  within  the 
walls  of  the  city.  The  account  of  the  lives  of  the  two  brothers 
John  and  Paul,  and  of  their  execution  under  Julian  the  apostate, 
is  apocryphal ;  but  no  one  who  visits  the  remains  of  this  house 
and  the  records  it  contains  will  deny  the  fact  that  some  one  was 


Fig.  131.  — Plan  of  the  House  of  SS.  .Tolin  and  Paul,  and  of  the  Cliurcli  built  above  it. 


murdered  or  executed  for  his  faith  here,  and  that  over  the  apart- 
ment in  which  the  event  took  place  a  church  was  built  at  a  later 
age.  On  this  occasion  the  Roman  house  was  left  intact  with  its 
spacious  halls  and  classical  decorations  to  be  used  as  a  crypt, 
while  the  basilica  was  raised  above  the  level  of  the  ceilings.  The 
murder  of  the  saints  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  a  narrow  pas- 
sage (fauces')  near  the  tablinum  or  reception-room.     Here  we  see 


THE   HOUSE    OF    GREGORY    THE    GREAT  349 

the  "  fenestella  coufessionis "  by  means  of  whicli  pilgrims  were 
allowed  to  behold  and  touch  the  venerable  graves.  Two  things 
strike  the  visitor :  firstly,  the  variety  of  the  fresco  decorations  of 
the  house,  which  begin  with  pagan  Genii  holding  festoons,  and 
end  with  stiff,  uncanny  representations  of  the  Passion,  of  the 
ninth  and  tenth  century ;  secondly,  the  fact  that  such  an  impor- 
tant monument  should  have  been  buried  and  forgotten  ^  until 
Padre  Germano  of  the  Passionists  rediscovered  it  ten  or  twelve 
years  ago.  Padre  Germano  has  given  us  a  delightful  account  of 
his  work  in  a  volume  entitled  "  La  casa  celimontana  dei  SS.  JNIai'tiri 
Giovanni  e  Paolo  scoperta  ed  illustrata."     Rome,  Cuggiani,  1894. 

This  house  and  another  one  annexed  to  the  nymphseum  of  the 
gardens  of  Sallust  are  the  only  ones  in  Rome  which  show  the 
third  floor  in  one  case,  the  fourth  in  the  other.  The  student 
walking  up  the  Clivus  Scauri,  between  the  house  of  John  and 
Paul  on  the  left,  and  the  house  and  library  of  Agapetus  on  the 
right,  may  fancy  himself  transported  into  the  midst  of  a  street 
scene  of  "  declining  "  Rome  towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century. 

I.  The  House  of  Gregory  the  Great.  —  The  "  Liber  pon- 
tificalis  "  (vol.  i.  p.  313,  edit.  Duchense)  leaves  no  doubt  that  the 
present  church  and  nujnastery  of  S.  Gregorio  are  built  on  the  site 
of  the  paternal  house  of  the  great  pontiff,  son  of  Gordianus  and 
Sylvia,  of  the  Petronian  branch  of  the  Anicii.  The  transforma- 
tion of  the  palace  into  a  coenobium,  where  Gregory  and  his  asso- 
ciates lived  under  the  rule  of  S.  Benedict,  seems  to  have  taken 
place  in  575.  John  the  Deacon  describes  it  as  placed  "  within  the 
walls  of  the  city,  on  the  Clivus  Scauri,  close  to  the  church  of  SS. 
John  and  Paul,"  and  as  containing  an  atrium  with  a  fountain  of 
elaborate  design  in  the  middle  (nymphwum).  The  spring,  called 
"mirabilis  immo  saluberrimus,"  was  probably  the  same  known 
in  classic  times  by  the  name  of  Fons  jNlercurii.  The  site  of  the 
piscina  can  still  be  traced  on  the  east  side  of  the  present  chui'ch. 
There  was  an  inner  court  within  the  clausnra,  around  which 
opened  the  cells  of  the  monks.  The  establishment  was  also  fur- 
nished with  a  hostelry  for  pilgrims  and  visitors,  with  stables  and 
granaries,  and  with  a  grand  triclinium,  in  which  the  monks  took 
their  siesta  during  the  hot  hours  of  the  day. 

The  name  of  S.  Gregorio  given  to  the  abbey  is  comparatively 
recent,  the  old  establishment  being  placed  under  the  patronage  of 
S.  Andrew.  His  chapel  was  splendidly  decorated  with  paintings 
and  mosaics.     There  were  also  other  chapels  or  oratories  under 

1  Parian  and  ChriMian  Rome,  p.  159. 


350  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

the  invocations  of  the  Virgin  Mary  (the  S.  Andrea  of  the  present 
day)  and  of  S.  Barbara  (the  present  triclinium).  Save  a  few  bits 
of  antique  walls,  which  appear  here  and  there  under  the  modern 
plastering,  nothing  is  left  visible  of  the  home  of  S.  Gregory  and 
of  the  monastery  "  SS.  Andrese  et  Gregorii  ad  clivum  Scauri,"  one 
of  the  most  powerful  in  central  Italy,  and  the  owner  of  the  Cii'cus 
jMaximus,  of  the  Septizonium,  and  of  the  palace  of  the  Caesars. 
The  first  blow  to  the  institution  was  struck  in  1573,  when  the 
Camaldolese  monks  took  the  place  of  the  Benedictines.  Cardinal 
Scipione  Borghese  and  his  architect,  Giovanni  Soria,  destroyed 
the  old  vestibule  and  the  atrium  in  1638 ;  all  the  rest  was  modern- 
ized in  1725.  I  have  discovered  in  the  Kupferstich  Kabinet  at 
Stuttgart  a  sketch  by  a  contemporary  of  Martin  Heemskerk,  I'ep- 
resenting  the  Monasterium  ad  Clivum  Scauri  before  the  modern 
profanation.     I  give  here  a  facsimile  of  this  rare  design. 


fc.- 

Fig.  132.  —  A  View  of  the  Church  and  Monastery  of  S.  Gregorio  in  the  First  Half  of  tlie 
Sixteenth  Century. 

The  two  leading  edifices  of  the  Ctelian  hill  which  remain  to 
be  described  are  the  Temple  of  Claudius  and  the  Rotunda  of 
S.  Stefano. 

VIII.  Claudium  (Temple  of  Claudius),  begun  by  Agrippina 
the  younger,  niece  and  fourth  wife  of  that  Emperor.     After  the 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   CLAUDIUS  351 

murder  of  Agrippina,  which  took  place  in  a.  d.  59,  Xero  her  sou 
took  possession  of  the  unfinished  temple  and  turned  it  into  a 
nymphseum  and  reservoir  for  the  Aqua  Claudia,  joining  it  to  the 
main  aqueduct  "  ad  Spem  veterem "  (Porta  Maggiore)  by  means 
of  the  Areas  Cx'elimontani  or  Arcus  Neroniani,  which  still  forms  so 
conspicuous  a  featm-e  of  the  Ctelian  hill.  After  the  suicide  of 
Xero,  A.  D.  68,  the  place  was  restored  to  its  original  use  by  Ves- 
pasian under  the  name  of  "  Templum  divi  Claudii,"  which  the 
people  shortened  into  tliat  of  Claudium.  A  bull  of  Ilonorius  III., 
dated  February  2,  1217,  shows  that  the  classic  term  was  still  in 
use  in  the  thirteenth  century  (Clodeum).  The  causes  and  tlie 
date  of  its  final  collapse  are  not  known ;  but  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  travertine  capitals  from  the  substructure  was  made  use  of  in 
the  reconstruction  of  the  house  of  SS.  John  and  Paul  (first  door 
on  the  left  on  the  Clivus  Scauri)  proves  that  men  had  already 
laid  hands  on  the  noble  building  in  the  time  of  Julian  the  Apos- 
tate (360-363),  or  else  of  Pammachius,  the  builder  of  the  churcli 
(t  410).  Flaminio  Vacca  relates  the  following  discoveries  made 
at  the  time  of  Pius  IV. :  "  In  a  vineyard  between  the  Coliseum 
and  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo  the  foundations  of  a  building  were  dis- 
covered, made  of  'grossissimi  quadri  di  travertino,'  and  also  two 
marble  Corintliian  capitals,  one  of  which  was  removed  by  Pins 
IV.  to  the  church  of  S.  ^laria  degli  Angeli,  and  placed  on  one  of 
the  columns  of  the  nave.  I  remember  also  the  discovery  of  a 
marble  ship  8.92  metres  long,  and  of  a  fountain  sjilendidly  deco- 
rated witli  marbles,  which,  however,  appeared  nuicli  damaged  by 
fire."  Etienne  du  Perac  mentions  the  finding  of  some  fragments 
of  statues  of  heroic  size,  and  calls  the  platform  of  the  temple 
facing  the  Coliseum  the  "  cemetery  of  the  church  of  S.  Gregorio." 
Xo  words  can  convey  the  idea  of  the  beauty  and  peacefulness  of 
the  garden  of  the  Passionist  fathers  which  now  occupies  the  plat- 
form of  the  temple,  and  of  its  secluded  paths,  shaded  by  ilexes  on 
the  west  side,  and  by  cypresses  on  the  side  of  the  Coliseum.  The 
garden,  unfortunately,  is  under  the  monastic  clausura,  and  ladies 
are  refused  admittance.  The  only  parts  of  the  building  visible 
to  all  without  hindrance  are  the  substructures  of  the  platform. ^ 
which,  strange  to  say,  differ  in  design  and  style  of  masomy  for 
each  side  of  the  rectangle.  The  substructures  on  the  west  side, 
upon  which  stands  the  beautiful  campanile  of  SS.  Giovanni  e 
Paolo,  are  comjiosed  of  a  double  row  of  arches  in  the  so-called 
rustic  style  so  much  in  favor  at  the  time  of  Claudius  (Fig.  133) ; 
1  Ai^ply  to  tlie  sacristan  of  the  iliiircli. 


352 


URBS    SACRA   REG  ION  UM  XIV 


those  facing  the  Coliseum  appear  divided  into  receptacles  for  the 
storage  of  water  required  for  some  of  the  veuationes  of  the  amphi- 
theatre ;  those  on  the  Via  Claudia  show  a  succession  of  square  and 
semicircular  recesses,  the  object  of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine, 
especially  as  they  are  separated  from  the  mass  of  the  platform  by 
a  corridor  or  vaulted  passage,  less  than  a  metre  wide,  which  fol- 
lows their  capricious  outline.  Two  Christian  churches  or  ora- 
tories have  been  found  hidden,  as  it  were,  in  these  substructures. 


Fig.  133.  —  The  Substructures  of  tlie  Claudiuni,  We.st  Side. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CLAUDIUS  353 

Ciampini  speaks  of  the  first  in  "  Cod.  vatic,"  7849.  In  September, 
1689,  while  the  modern  vandals  were  excavating  and  ijestroying 
the  northern  front  of  the  platform  for  the  sake  of  building  mate- 
rials, a  door  w^as  discovered  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  one  side, 
and  a  star  or  crux  decussata  on  the  other.  After  passing  another 
door  on  the  right,  a  room  was  entered,  7.80  metres  long,  with  fres- 
coes in  the  apse  representing  the  Redeemer  giving  the  scroll  of 
the  law  not  to  S.  Peter  —  as  de  hire  in  early  Christian  iconography 
—  but  to  S.  Paul.  Two  smaller  figures  of  Pope  Formosus  (891) 
and  of  Michael,  the  first  converted  king  of  the  Bulgarians,  were 
painted  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour.  The  figure  of  Pope  Formosus 
had  been  carefully  obliterated  after  his  memorke  damnatio  at  the 
hands  of  Stephen  VII.,  his  successor.  This  historical  monument 
was  very  likely  destroyed  by  its  discoverers.  The  second  churcli, 
called  "  ecclesia  S.  Laurentii  supra  S.  Clementem,"  was  established 
in  the  fourth  recess  (a  square  with  an  apse)  of  the  east  side  of 
the  substructures  on  the  Via  Claudia.  Ai-mellini  mentions  having 
seen  traces  of  Christian  frescoes  in  the  apse  when  first  cleared  of 
the  rubbish  in  1881,  but  he  and  the  late  Commendatore  de  Rossi 
are  mistaken  in  identifying  this  second  place  of  worship  with 
Ciampini's  oratory,  which  opened  not  on  the  east  but  on  the  north 
side,  and  among  ruins  not  of  brick  but  of  reticulated  work. 

LiTERATUKK  FOR  THE  Claudium.  —  Heiiiricli  .Tordan,  Forma  Urhis  Eomce, 
pi.  X.  n.  45.  —  Suetonius,  Vespas.  [). — Luigi  Canina,  Indictiziune  di  Roma 
aniica,  p.  73.  —  Otto  Richter,  Topor/r.,  p.  167.  —  P.  Germaiio  di  S.  Stanislao, 
Im  casa  celimontana  del  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo.  Rome,  18!l4,  p.  19.  — Etienne 
du  Perac,  Vedute  di  Roma,  pi.  14. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  10,251«.  —  R. 
Lauciani,  /  comentarii  di  Frontimo,  p.  152.  —  Giuseppe  Gatti,  Annal.  Inst., 
1882,  p.  205. 

Literature  for  the  Christian  Oratories.  —  Jlariano  Armellini, 
Chiese,  2d  edit.,  pp.  135,  513.  — Gio.  Batt.  de  Rossi,  Bull,  crist.,  1868,  pp.  59, 
00  ;  and  1882,  p.  98. 

IX.  Macellum  (S.  Stefano  Rotondo).  —  Commendatore  de 
Rossi,  in  his  splendid  volumes  "  I  musaici  delle  chiese  di  Roma," 
and  also  in  the  memoir  already  quoted,  "  La  basilica  di  S.  Stefano 
rotondo,"  etc.,  proposes  some  architectural  and  topographical 
problems  in  regard  to  this  mysterious  structure,  which,  he  thinks, 
is  not  a  pagan  but  a  Christian  edifice  of  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century ;  and  he  brings  in  support  of  his  theory  the  author- 
ity of  Hiibsch  (Die  altchristlichen  Kirchen,  p.  36)  and  of  Rahn 
(Ursprung  des  Christl.  Central-  und  Kuppelbaus,  p.  .53). 

To  tell  the  truth,  tlie  theorv  is  strictlv  Italian,  and  over  a  cen- 


354 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


tury  old.  See  Yaladier  in  Canina's  "  Supplementi  al  Desgodetz," 
p.  15 :  "  Le  defaut  de  documents  ne  permet  pas  d'admettre 
I'opinion  de  Desgodetz,  leqiiel  suppose  que  ce  fut  un  temple  dedie 
au  dieu  Faune.  ...  II  faut  le  regarder  comme  TomTage  du  pape 
Simplicius  I.,  dedie  a  S.  Etienne  et  restaure  depuis  par  Nicolas  V." 
Yaladier's  opinion  is  proved  correct  by  the  general  style  of  the 


S.  STEFANO   ROTOXDO  355 

rotunda,  by  the  quality  and  variety  of  its  columns,  capitals  and 
bases,  spoils  of  older  edifices,  by  the  crosses  cut  in  bold  relief 
on  the  cushions  of  some  capitals,  and  above  all  by  the  fact  that 
the  present  edifice  rests  on  the  remains  of  an  earlier  one  of  the 
first  ceutui-y  after  Christ.  They  were  discovered  by  Valadier  in 
or  about  1814,  between  the  seventh  and  ninth  columns  of  the 
outer  circle  on  the  right  of  the  present  entrance.  Other  walls  of 
the  best  pei'iod,  profusely  decorated  with  marbles,  were  found  six 
years  ago  under  the  adjoining  convent  and  garden  of  the  Theresian 
nuns.  However  strange  may  appear  the  fact  of  great  structures 
being  raised  in  Rome  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  when  all 
resources  had  given  out,  and  the  want  was  felt  not  of  the  luxuries 
but  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  when  monuments  were  col- 
lapsing in  all  quarters  for  want  of  repairs,  it  is  certain  that  the 
rotunda  of  S.  Stefano,  this  alleged  Temple  of  Faun,  of  Bacchus, 
of  Jupiter  Peregrinus,  this  alleged  Macellum  Magnum,  or  INlica 
Aurea  of  Xero,  has  lost  forever  its  position  among  the  classic 
buildings  of  Rome.  Who  was,  then,  its  true  founder,  and  what  was 
tlie  true  object  of  its  foundation  ? 

The  "  Liber  pontificalis  "  (i.  249)  attributes  to  Pope  Simplicius 
(468-482)  the  dedication  "  basilicse  S.  Stephani  in  Coelio  monte." 
For  a  long  time  an  exaggerated  value  has  been  attributed  to  the 
formulae  of  the  Papal  chancery,  "dedicavit,  fecit,  optulit,"  etc., 
and  accordingly  Felix  IV.  has  been  called  the  builder  of  SS. 
Cosma  e  Damiano,  Ilonorius  I.  of  S.  Adriano,  Helena  of  the 
"  Hierusalem,"  and  Simplicius  of  S.  Andrea  on  tlie  Esquiline, 
while  they  had  simply  adapted  to  the  Christian  worship  edifices 
of  classic  times,  —  the  Templum  Sacra^  Urbis,  the  Senate-house, 
the  hall  of  the  Sessorian  Palace,  and  the  basilica  of  Junius  Bas- 
sus.  This  rotunda  likewise,  built  for  civil  and  public  use,  under- 
went the  same  transformation  at  the  hands  of  Simplicius.  Its 
architectm'e  has  nothing  to  do  with  a  place  of  worship,  whether 
Christian  or  pagan.  It  consists  of  an  inner  circle  of  twenty-two 
columns  supporting  a  drum  pierced  by  twenty-two  windows ;  of 
an  outer  portico  of  thirty-six  columns  and  eight  pilasters,  open  to 
wind  and  rain  ;  of  four  open  courts ;  of  four  covered  storerooms  ; 
and  of  an  inclosure  wall  pierced  by  eight  doors-.  There  is  no  place 
for  an  altar,  no  apse,  no  presbyterium  (see  Fig.  135).  The  names 
of  mausoleum  and  of  baptistery  have  also  been  suggested,  on  no 
better  grounds,  because  no  burial  v\'as  allowed  within  the  walls, 
and  no  great  church  existed  in  this  part  of  the  Cjelian,  to  which 
the  rotunda  could  be  attached  as  a  baptistery.     We  cannot  hope 


356 


UBBS    SACEA    REGIONUM   XIV 


to  tear  away  the  veil  of  mystery  in  which  this  "  sfinge  celimon- 
tana  "  is  wrapped ;  at  the  same  time  we  may  accept  the  following 
points  as  probable,  if  not  certain  :  — 

A.  The  rotunda  of  S.  Stef  ano  stands  on  the  remains  of  a  classic 
edifice  of  the  same  architectural  type,  probably  the  INIacelhim 
Magnum  or  "  great  market-place  "  of  Nero,  which  occupied  the 
middle  of  a  square  lined  with  porticoes  and  shops. 


ASSE 


Piazza  dcUa     |     Navicclla. 
ASSE 
Fig.  135.  —  Plan  of  S.  Stefano  Rotondo. 


B.  This  edifice  of  classic  times,  having  come  to  grief  for 
reasons  unknown  to  us,  was  reconstructed  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century  for  civic  purposes,  probably  for  the  same  use  of  a  market. 


JSIS   AND    tiERAPlS  357 

We  may  cite  in  support  of  this  idea  the  contemporary  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Macdluru  Licke  on  the  Esquiline,  at  the  hands  of  Valens 
and  Gratianus. 

C.  After  the  plunder  of  the  city  by  Ahiric  and  Genseric,  the 
half-deserted  Cselian  being  no  more  in  need  of  a  public  market, 
Pope  Simplicius  occupied  the  edifice  and  dedicated  it  —  with  some 
slight  alterations  —  to  the  memory  of  S.  Stephen.  This  happened 
al)out  one  century  after  its  reconstruction  as  a  market-place. 

D.  The  apse  adorned  with  mosaics,  the  transformation  of  one  of 
the  open  courts  into  a  presbyterium  and  high  altar,  tlie  closing  of 
seven  doors  out  of  eight,  and  the  porch  over  the  only  one  left  open, 
are  the  work  of  Theodore  I.  (642-049). 

Ruccellai,  who  visited  S.  Stefano  in  the  jubilee  of  1450,  describes 
the  drum  and  the  inclosure  wall  as  inlaid  with  finely  cut  crusts  of 
porphyry  and  serpentine,  grapes  and  leaves  of  mother-of-pearl, 
"tarsie  et  altre  gentileze."  These  beautiful  works  of  art  were 
destroyed  in  1453  by  Pope  Nicholas  V. 

THE  RUINS  OF  THE  OPPIAX. 
Regio  hi.     "  Isis  et  Sekai-is." 

X.  The  third  region  occupies  that  portion  of  the  Esquiline  ridge 
which  was  properly  called  Mons  Oppius.  The  first  and  unitpie 
inscription  mentioning  the  Oppiiin,  its  compital  shrines,  and  its 
organization  as  a  ward  of  the  city  in  Republican  times,  was  dis- 
covered in  September,  18S7,  in  the  cellars  of  the  ex-convent  of  le 
Cappuccine  alle  sette  Sale  — "  ]Ma:g(istri)  et  Flamin(es)  monta- 
n(orum)  montis  Oppi(i)  de  pecunia  mont(anorum)  sacellum  clau- 
dend(um)  et  cofequandum  et  arbores  serendas  coeraverunt."  The 
name  "  montani "  applies  strictly  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  septi- 
montium  —  even  to  the  present  day  (monticiani)  —  while  those  of 
the  suiTounding  districts  were  called  "pagani."  The  yearly  cele- 
bration called  by  Varro  "  septimontiale  sacrum  "  was  performed  on 
the  Palatium,  Cermalus,  Yelia,  Fagutalis,  O^jpian,  Cispian,  and  in 
the  Subura,  in  memory  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  population  in 
those  places.  The  festive  groups  gathered  round  tlie  oldest  shrine 
of  the  ward,  led  by  their  own  popular  magistrates  and  priests. 
The  shrines  were  surrounded  by  clusters  of  old  trees,  such  as 
lurches  {I ucus  fagutalis),  oaks  (lucus  querquetulanus),  laurels  (vicus 
Loi-eti),  and  so  forth.  The  inscription  found  on  the  Oppian  shows 
how  carefully  these  historical  woods  were  preserved.' 

1  LiTEKATUEE.  —  Giuscppc  Gatti,  Bull,  com.,  1887,  p.  150. 


358  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

We  do  not  know  what  name  was  given  to  this  third  region  by 
Augustus,  that  of  Isis  and  Serapis  being  of  a  later  age.  The 
temple  of  the  two  gods  (Isium  Metellinum  ?)  stood  between  the 
Via  Leopardi,  the  Via  Curva,  and  the  Via  Macchiavelli.  It  was  a 
magnificent  structure,  rich  in  masterpieces  of  Egyptian,  Greek,  and 
Roman  art,  and  yet  the  only  mention  we  have  of  it  is  a  brief  pas- 
sage of  Bartoli  (Mem.  2)  ;  "  An  Egyptian  temple  has  been  discov- 
ered near  the  church  of  SS.  Pietro  e  Marcellino,  the  figures  of 
which  were  designed  by  order  of  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo."  And  so 
thoroughly  did  the  seicento  excavators  destroy  it  that  not  one 
stone  is  left  in  situ.  Its  marble  spoils  seem  to  have  been  scattered 
far  and  wide  soon  after  the  prohibition  of  pagan  worship.  Many 
hundred  fragments  were  discovered  in  1888  under  the  house  at 
the  corner  of  the  Via  Labicana  and  the  Via  Macchiavelli,  having 
been  used  as  building-material  in  a  foundation  wall  of  the  sixth  or 
seventh  century.  They  represent  Jupiter  Serapis ;  Isis  crowned 
with  poppies  and  "  spica? ; "  Isis  veiled,  with  the  crescent  on  the 
forehead ;  three  replicas  of  the  same  type ;  and  a  female  figure 
wearing  the  Egyptian  head-dress,  probably  a  portrait  statue.  A 
figure  of  the  cow  Hathor,  the  living  symbol  of  Isis,  cut  in  the 
rarest  kind  of  spotted  granite,  was  discovered,  half  in  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Palazzo  Field,  Via  Merulana,  half  in  those  of  the  con- 
vent of  the  Sceurs  de  Cluny,  Via  Buonarroti.  A  pedestal  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  the  goddess  came  to  light  in  1889,  a  few  yards 
from  the  Coliseum.  I  may  mention  in  the  last  place  the  find  of 
another  wall  in  the  Via  Labicana  entirely  built  of  blocks  of  ame- 
thyst, which  seemed  to  belong  to  one  or  more  columns. 

The  designs  of  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo  are  in  England.  Some  small 
Egyptian  figurines  are  in  the  Capitoline  Museum,  ground  floor, 
first  room  on  the  left.  The  blocks  of  amethyst  are  in  the  Palazzo 
dei  Conservatori.  The  altar  of  Isis  is  in  the  Museo  della  Terme, 
and  the  marble  statues  in  the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio,  Halls  II. 
and  V. ;  the  cow  Hathor  in  the  coftee-house  of  the  Villa  Field  !  ^ 

The  monuments  of  the  third  region,  which  we  must  take  into 
consideration  in  this  chapter,  are  the  Golden  House  of  Nero,  with 
its  reservoir  called  the  Sette  Sale;  the  baths  of  Titus  and  the 
baths  of  Trajan,  built  on  the  remains  of  the  Domus  Aurea ;  and 
the  Flavian  amphitheatre  with  its  annexes. 

XI.    Domus  Aurea   (the  Golden   House   of  Nero).  — Of  the 

1  Literature.  —  Forma  Urbis,  pi.  xxix. — Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull,  com., 
1887,  pp.  131-1.36;  and  1889,  p.  'il .  —  AthencBum,  n.  Zl^l.  —  Notizie  Scavi,  1888, 
p.  626. 


THE    GOLDEN  HOUSE    OF  NERO  359 

wonders  of  the  Golden  House  —  a  park  one  mile  square  laid  out  by- 
Nero  after  the  fire  of  July,  64  —  it  is  enough  to  say  that  it  con- 
tained waterfalls  supplied  by  an  aqueduct  fifty  miles  long ;  lakes 
and  ponds  shaded  by  ancient  trees,  with  harbors  for  the  Imperial 
galleys ;  a  vestibule  with  a  bronze  colossus  120  feet  high  ;  porticoes 
8000  feet  long ;  farms  and  vineyards,  pasture-grounds  and  woods 
teeming  with  game  ;  zoological  and  botanical  gardens ;  sulphur 
baths  supplied  from  the  aquae  Albula? ;  sea  baths  supplied  from  the 
Mediterranean  ;  thousands  of  columns  with  capitals  of  Corinthian 
metal ;  hundreds  of  statues  removed  from  Greece  and  Asia  Minor ; 
walls  inlaid  with  gems  and  mother-of-pearl ;  banqueting  halls  with 
ivory  ceilings,  from  which  rare  flowers  and  costly  perfumes  fell 
gently  on  the  recumbent  guests.  More  elaborate  still  was  the 
ceiling  of  the  state  dining-hall.  It  is  described  as  spherical  in 
shape,  carved  in  ivory  so  as  to  I'epresent  the  starry  skies,  and  kept 
in  motion  by  machinery  in  imitation  of  the  course  of  stars  and 
planets. 

Remains  of  this  fairy-like  establishment  have  been  found  during 
the  last  four  centuries,  wherever  the  proper  depth  was  attained, 
below  the  level  of  the  Imperial  buildings  of  a  later  age  in  the  space 
between  the  Palatine  and  the  gardens  of  Maecenas  on  the  Esquiline. 
Some  of  the  apartments  are  still  visible  under  the  Temple  of  Venus 
and  Home,  and  in  the  gardens  formerly  of  Cardinal  Pio  di  Carpi 
and  of  Cardinal  Marzio  Colonna,  now  belonging  to  the  Ospizio 
delle  jNIendicanti.  A  nympha?um  (Fig.  l-iT)  incrusted  with  shells 
and  enamels  has  just  been  found  (1895)  near  the  Via  della  Pol- 
veriera  in  the  same  Vigna  de  Xobili  in  which  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli 
witnessed  the  discovery  of  "  diverse  stanze  sotterranee  adornate  di 
marmi,  pitture,  fontane,  e  statue."  Alberti  Giovanni  says  that  in 
the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Golden  House  (ruine  del  ajjpartamenio  di  Nerone)  was  excavated 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  monks  of  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  at  the  depth 
of  9.36  metres,  and  that  there  were  "  most  beautiful  rooms  "  with 
stucco  carvings  on  a  golden  ground,  and  jiaintings ;  porticoes  with 
columns  of  the  rarest  breccias,  and  capitals  of  the  Ionic  order,  and 
other  such  relics.  Another  wing  of  the  palace,  a  corridor  on  which 
opened  five  guest-rooms,  with  a  rich  set  of  mosaic  pictures,  was 
excavated  in  1668,  55.75  metres  east  of  the  Coliseum  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Trajan's  baths.^     The  mosaics,  the  paintings,  and  some  of 

1  Literature  on  discoveries  connected  with  the  Golden  House  :  Pietro  Sante 
Bartoli,  Mem.  3,  51  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  pp.  ccxxii,  ccxxxiv).  —  Carlo 
Fea,  Varieta  di  notizie,  p.  124.  —  Alberti  Giovanni,  Cod.  Borgo  S.  Sepolcro, 


360 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


the  marbles  were  removed  to  the  Massimi  Palace.     The  collection 
was  sold  by  the  present  prince. 


Fig.  137.  — Nyinphieum  discovered  near  the  Via  della  Polveriera. 


The  principal  building  of  Nero's  park  lies  half  buried  but  almost 
intact  under  the  baths  of  Trajan,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
map  (Fig.  1-38). 

It  consists  of  a  long  row  of  halls  A,  A',  A",  opening  on  one  side 
due  north,  on  a  garden  B,  B',  which  is  surrounded  by  a  jiortico  C, 
C,  C",  C",  and  has  a  fountain  U  in  the  centre ;  and  on  the  other 
side  opening  due  south,  E,  E',  E",  on  a  great  court  F,  surrounded 
also  by  a  colonnade  G,  G'.  By  this  arrangement  the  palace  was 
made  equally  pleasant  in  winter  or  summer.  When  Trajan  deter- 
mined to  erect  a  great  bathing-establishment  on  the  adjoining- 
heights  of  the  Oppian,  he  made  use  of  this  noble  house  to  supjiort 
the  semicircular  portion  of  the  platform  on  the  side  nearest  to  the 
Coliseum.  For  this  purpose  he  built  a  series  of  parallel  walls, 
some  at  right  angles  with  the  masses  of  buildings  already  in  exists 
ence,  some  sloping  towards  them,  in  the  manner  of  buttresses,  at 
an  angle  of  61°.     Trajan's  substructures  are  easily  distinguished 

40',  41';  Bull,  arcli.  com.,  1895,  pp.  174-181.  — Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheil., 
1891,  p.  289;  and  1896,  p.  213.  — R.  Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  p.  124;  and  Bull, 
com.,  1895,  p.  174. 


tXg.  13 


PL 
OF  • 


^^ 


X 


PLAN   OF  THE  GOLDEN  HOL'SEAND 

OF  THE   BATHS   OF  TFIVS    AND  TRA.iA 

HTILT  ABOVE    H 


THE    GOLDEN  HOUSE    OF   XERO 


361 


by  their  style  of  masonry,  —  a  perfect  specimen  of  opus  reticula- 
tum  divided  into  panels  by  bands  of  bricks, — while  Xero's  walls 
are  all  in  opus  lateritium,  with  a  coating  of  plaster. 

These  ruins  were  first  visited  by  Giovanni  da  Udine  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.^  He  made  a  careful  study  of 
their  fanciful  paintings,  to  which  the  name  of  "  grottesche,"  viz., 
••  found  in  underground  ruins  or  grotte,"  has  since  been  given. 


r'-'''^^^  ^^PTI 

aBfeEBW' 

^■r"^'^.  *^^P 

I^^Hito^    "-'^.  :;J 

Fig.  139.  —  A  View  of  the  South  Wing  of  the  Domus  Aurea. 


Giovanni's  sketches  (the  originals  of  which  are  now  dispersed  in 
various  European  collections)  inspired  his  master,  Raphael  Sanzio, 
to  produce  the  immortal  creations  of  the  Loggie  Vaticane.  Only 
a  few  traces  of  these  celebrated  frescoes  are  now  visible  in  the 
cryptoporticus  H,  H',  on  the  north  side  of  the  garden  B,  B',  and 
in  the  halls  marked  A,  A'.  They  help  us  to  appreciate  the  power 
possessed  by  the  ancient  house-decorators  to  increase  the  apparent 
extent  of  a  limited  space  by  perspective  drawings  of  this  kind. 
It  seems  almost  certain  that  these  halls  were  used,  or  perhaps  in- 

1  Xibby  has  found  the  date  149-3  written  in  one  of  the  rooms  by  an  un- 
known visitor.  On  the  visit  of  Raphael  and  Giovanni  Rieamatore  to  the 
crypts,  see  Vasari,  Vita  di  Giovanni ;  and  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Rendiconti  Lincei, 
1895,  p.  3. 


362  UEBS   SACRA   RE  G I  ON  U 31   XIV 

habited,  even  after  their  conversion  into  substructures,  light  and 
air  being  supplied  by  skylights  opening  in  the  terrace  .of  the  baths. 
Fifteen  skylights  open  on  the  cryptoporticus  H  alone. 

A  point  of  interest  to  the  modern  visitor  is  the  chapel  dedi- 
cated to  S.  Felicitas  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  (I,  in 
plan).  Its  paintings,  now  much  effaced,  have  been  illustrated 
by  MaruUi,  Piale,  Armellini,  and  copied  in  facsimile  by  Ruspi. 
The  principal  group  represented  the  Saviour  offering  a  crown  of 
jewels  to  Felicitas  Cvltrix  Roinanarvm.  The  heroic  woman  is 
surrounded  by  her  seven  sons,  four  on  the  left,  Silianvs,  Martialis, 
Philippvs,  Felix;  three  on  the  right,  Vitalis,  Alexander,  Zeuva- 
rivs.  The  names  were  written  twice,  once  in  red,  once  in  black 
letters.  The  side  walls  are  covered  with  graffiti  mostly  of  the 
class  of  p7~oscine7na,  or  devout  salutations.  One  of  the  legends 
began  with  the  words  ivstinvs  domo  •  .  . ;  another  tells  us  that 
the  domus  was  that  of  an  Alexander  (AAE2ANAPOIO  A0M02)  ;  and  as 
Alexander  is  the  name  of  one  of  Felicitas'  sons,  who  shared  with 
her  the  glory  of  martyrdom  under  Marcus  Aurelius,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  this  memorial  chapel  was  consecrated  after  the  peace 
of  the  Church  in  the  verj^  house  in  which  he  lived. 

Literature.  —  Troiano  Marulli,  Lettera  sopra  U7i'  antica  cappelln  nelle 
terme  di  Tito.  Naples,  181.3. — Antonio  Guattani,  Memorie  Encidopediche, 
1816.  —  Girolamo  Araati,  Cod.  vat.,  9776,  f.  6.  —  Mariano  Armellini,  Chiese  di 
Roma,  p.  136. 

The  walls  of  the  Golden  House  are  covered  here  and  there 
with  graffiti  (published  by  Correra,  Bull,  com.,  189.5,  p.  197), 
which  proves  that  these  underground  rooms  were  left  permanently 
accessible,  and  were  resorted  to  for  pui-poses  not  always  lawful. 
In  one  of  the  apartments  on  the  left  of  the  (present)  entrance 
door  there  is  a  latrina,  and  above  it  the  painting  of  two  serpents 
coiled  around  a  tripos,  the  meaning  "of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
first  satire  of  Persius,  v.  127 :  pinr/e:  duos  anfjues :  pueri,  sacer  est 
locus ! 

Near  the  entrance  to  the  cryptoporticus  H  H',  at  the  place 
marked  K,  remains  are  to  be  seen  of  a  building,  destroyed  by  the 
fire  of  Nero,  and  consequently  older  than  his  Golden  House.  The 
cryptoporticus  itself  was  discovered  for  the  first  time  in  1818. 
The  state  in  which  it  was  found,  with  the  ceiling  most  exquisitely 
painted  on  a  white  ground,  while  the  walls  had  received  only  their 
first  rough  coating  of  plaster,  and  the  work  of  laying  the  pave- 
ment had  not  even  begun,  proves  that  this  wing  of  the  Golden 


THE  BATHS   OF  TITUS 


363 


House  was  not  finished  at  the  time  of  Nero's  death.  The  ara- 
besques of  the  ceiling  have  been  published  by  De  Romanis  in 
Ijlates  viii.  and  ix.  of  the  "Camere  Esquiline."  Neglect,  damp, 
and  the  smoke  of  torches  have  nearly  effaced  them.  Towards  the 
middle  of  the  corridor,  on  the  right  hand,  there  is  an  altar,  and 
above  it  another  representation  of  the  two  snakes,  with  a  legend 
declaring  in  the  most  crude  and  undisguised  form  what  the  sym- 
bol of  the  snakes  meant.  The  text  can  be  found  in  Nibby  (Roma 
antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  829)  and  De  Romanis  (Camere  Esquiline,  p.  7). 
Its  meaning  is,  "  Commit  no  nuisance." 

Other  remains  of  the  Golden  House  are  to  be  seen  in  the  garden 
annexed  to  the  Scuola  degli  Ingegneri  (ex-convent  of  S.  Pietro  in 
Vinculis)  under  the  building  called  "  la  Polveriera,"  and  also  in  the 
Vigna  Gualtieri  and  in  the  Villa  Field.  They  are  practically  in- 
accessible. The  Villa  Field  contains  also  the  magnificent  reser- 
voir, known  by  the  name  of  Le  Capoccie  or  the  Sette  Sale,  divided 
into  nine  compartments  by  eight  parallel  walls.  The  nine  sections 
communicate  by  means  of  four  openings  through  the  cross-walls, 
placed  not  opposite  each  other  but  diagonally,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
violent  rush  of  the  water  from  one  receptacle  to  the  next.  The 
reservoir  seems  to  have  been  kept  in  use,  first  for  the  baths  of 
Titus,  and  afterwards  for  those  of  Trajan. 

The  Camere  Esquiline  are  entered  by  the  first  gate  on  the  left  of 
the  (modern)  Via  Labicana.     Open  every  day,  Sundays  excepted. 

XIL  Therms  Titian^  (Baths  of  Titus).  Classic  inscriptions 
and  early  ecclesiastic  documents  mention  two  great  baths  on  the 
platform  of  the  Oppian,  between  the  Coliseum,  the  Sette  Sale,  and 
the  Basilica  Eudoxiana  (S.  Pietro  in  Vinculis)  ;  namely,  the  baths 
of  Titus,  "  Thermai  Titianai,"  and  the  baths  of  Trajan,  "  Thermae 
Traianfe."  Topographers  have  discussed  the  question  whether 
the  two  edifices  were  really  independent  and  distinct  from  each 
other,  or  whether  they  were  but  one  and  the  same  establishment, 
built  in  haste  (velocla  munera)  by  Titus,  and  rebuilt,  enlarged, 
and  embellished  by  Trajan.  The  supporters  of  the  first  theory 
quoted  in  their  favor  the  "  Notitia,"  which  mentions  among  the 
edifices  of  the  third  region  Thermas  Titianas  et  Traianas ;  and 
the  inscription  of  Ursus  Togatus,  the  pilicrepus  or  juggler  of  the 
time  of  Hadrian,  famous  for  having  played  with  a  light  glass 
ball  in  Thermis  Titi  et  Traiani.  Those  who  believed  in  the  one 
edifice  having  had  two  names,  that  of  the  founder  and  that  of  the 
restorer,  quoted  the  case  of  the  baths  of  Nero  by  the  Pantheon, 


364  URBS   SACRA  REGIONUM  XIV 

which  became  the  Thermae  Alexandrianse  after  their  reconstruc- 
tion by  Severus  Alexander.  I  have  myself  been  a  supporter  of 
this  second  theory,  because,  in  surveying  the  platform  and  the 
slopes  of  the  Oppian  for  the  construction  of  Sheets  xxiii.  and  xxx. 
of  the  "  Forma  Urbis,"  I  could  not  find  the  proper  space  for  two 
baths  of  such  size  in  that  district.  At  the  beginning  of  last  year 
(1895)  the  question  stood  therefore  in  these  terms.  Had  the 
baths  of  Titus  lost  their  name  and  their  identity  through  restora- 
tion and  enlargement  by  Trajan  ?  There  was  no  doubt  that  the 
extensive  ruins,  known,  described,  and  designed  for  centuries, 
between  the  Coliseum  and  the  Sette  Sale,  belonged  to  them.  The 
site  of  those  of  Trajan  —  in  case  of  an  independent  building  —  was 
vaguely  pointed  out  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Martino  ai  Monti. 

The  question  has  been  since  decided  theoretically  by  means  of 
a  discovery  which  I  have  made  among  the  drawings  of  Palladio 
(formerly  at  Chiswick,  now  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects,  Condxiit  Street,  London),  and  prac- 
tically by  the  finding  of  the  propylaia  of  the  true  baths  of  Titus 
in  the  course  of  the  excavations  carried  on  in  the  spring  of  1895 
on  the  northeast  side  of  the  Coliseum. 

Palladio's  drawings  prove  that  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
Coliseum  (^per  mezo  el  colixeo)  there  were  still  standing  about  1550 
remains  of  baths  which  he  attributes  to  Vespasian ;  that  their 
level  was  17.50  metres  above  that  of  the  street  surrounding  the 
amphitheatre ;  that  they  were  approached  by  stately  stairs  open- 
ing on  a  piazza  or  platform ;  and  lastly,  that  the  thermae  were 
molto  ruinate,  so  that  in  many  points  his  plans  and  drawings  were 
simply  conjectural. 

After  Palladio's  time  every  trace  of  them  disappeared  under 
the  increase  of  modern  soil.  Valuable  marbles  were  dug  up  about 
1590  and  made  use  of  in  decorating  one  of  the  chapels  of  the 
Chiesa  del  Gesii,  and  granite  columns  were  found  in  1797. 

The  excavations  for  the  construction  of  a  new  humble  quarter 
—  especially  calculated  to  disfigure  this  classic  corner  of  old 
Rome  —  and  those  made  last  year  by  Commendatore  Baccelli, 
minister  of  public  instruction,  while  confirming  in  the  main  lines 
the  exactness  of  Palladio's  drawings,  have  enabled  us  to  give  a 
definite  place  to  these  much  discussed  baths  in  the  map  of  the 
ancient  city,  and  to  restore  to  the  adjoining  ruins  of  the  Oppian 
their  proper  name  of  Therma;  Traiani. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  the  front  portion  of  the 
Baths  of  Titus  had  already  collapsed.     An  extension  of  the  offices 


THE   BATHS    OF    TRAJAN  365 

of  the  prefect  of  the  city  was  built  on  its  site,  remains  of  wliich 
are  still  to  be  seen. 

Literature  on  the  Offices  of  the  Prefect.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  (?/i 
edifici  della  prtfettura  urbana  fra  la  Tellure  e  le  tei'ine  di  Tito  e  di  Traiano 
(in  Bull,  com.,  1892,  p.  19).  Compare  Bull,  cum.,  1882,  p.  101;  and  Mittheil., 
189.3,  p.  299. 

XIII.  Thehm-k  Traiaxi  (Baths  of  Trajan).  —  No  account  of 
their  construction  is  to  be  found  in  classics,  except  in  a  brief  pas- 
sage of  Pausanias  (v.  12),  where  the  baths  "  which  bear  Trajan's 
name,"  indpvfxa  aiiTov,  are  placed  at  the  head,  of  the  list  of  his 
works.  When  the  statues  of  the  gods  were  removed  from  the 
temples,  in  which  divine  honors  had  been  paid  to  them,  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  state  buildings  of  Rome  as  simple  works  of 
art,  the  Baths  of  Trajan  received  their  full  share  at  the  hands 
of  Julius  Felix  Campanianus,  prefect  of  the  city  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  century.  Officers  from  the  staff  of  the  establishment 
are  mentioned  in  Nos.  8677,  8678  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscr.  : "  a  Phi- 
letus,  "  exactor,"  and  an  Ireneus,  "  adjutor  thermarum  traiana- 
rum."  The  extensive  ruins  did  not  lose  their  identity  until  a 
comparatively  recent  date. 

The  "  Itinerary  of  Einsiedlen  "  calls  them  by  their  proper  name, 
thermas  Traiani  ad  Vincula,  and  all  the  artists  of  the  Renaissance 
adhere  likewise  to  the  right  denomination.  The  fault  of  adopting 
the  wrong  one  lias  been  attributed  to  Pope  Julius  II.,  who  wrote 
on  the  pedestal  of  the  granite  basin,  removed  from  S.  Pietro  in 
Vinculis  to  the  Vatican  Belvedere,  the  words  "  labrum  .  .  .  ab  Titi 
Yespasiani  thermis  in  Carinis  ...  in  vaticanos  hortos  advexit ;  " 
but  the  legend  is  correct,  the  basin  having  been  seen  in  1450  by 
Ruccellai  on  the  true  site  of  the  Thermae  Titi,  "  in  una  vigna  ap- 
presso  al  coliseo."  The  change  of  name  took  place  towards  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  history  of  the  destruction  of  this  noble  edifice,  as  I  have 
been  able  to  reconstruct  it  from  documents  preserved  in  Roman 
archives,  would  fill  a  volume.  The  monks  of  S.  Pietro  in  Vinculis 
are  responsible  for  it :  they  sold  the  marbles  to  lime-burners,  the 
bricks  to  master  masons,  and  allowed  excavators  to  tear  up  the 
foundations  of  the  frigidarium,  tepidarium,  and  caldarium.  While 
the  architects  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  still  able  to  draw  their 
plan  and  design  their  shape  without  difficulty,  very  little  is  now 
left  standing  above  ground,  either  in  the  garden  of  the  scuola 
degli  Ingegneri  or  in  the  Villa  Field.     These  few  remains,  a  per- 


366  URBS   SACRA  REGIONUM  XIV 

feet  specimen  of  Roman  brickwork  of  the  golden  age  of  Apollo- 
dorus,  are  well  taken  care  of,  and  appear  to  great  advantage  in 
their  frame  of  evergreens.  Students  are  allowed  to  visit  the  beau- 
tiful grounds.  If  they  wash  to  single  out  the  various  remains 
which  they  contain,  they  must  remember  that  the  Domus  Aurea 
(and  the  Baths  of  Titus)  were  "  oriented  "  on  the  meridian  line, 
while  the  axis  of  the  Baths  of  Trajan  diverges  towards  the  east 
by  30°. 

Many  works  of  art  have  been  found  in  this  classic  district,  but 
it  is  not  possible  to  say  exactly  where.  The  first  is  the  granite 
tazza  just  mentioned,  which  was  seen  by  Ruccellai,  during  the 
jubilee  of  1450,  "  in  una  vigna  appresso  al  coliseo,"  removed  by 
Julius  II.  "  in  vaticanos  hortos  "  a.  d.  1504,  and  buried  at  the 
time  of  Pius  IV.  in  the  "  teatro  di  Belvedere."  Its  place  of  con- 
cealment was  pointed  out  to  Paul  V.  by  a  master  mason  named 
Battista.  Paul  V.  caused  it  to  be  restored  in  1616  and  used  it  as 
a  basin  to  his  fountain  in  the  same  teatro  di  Belvedere.  Another 
oval  granite  tazza,  twenty  palms  long,  ornamented  with  rings  and 
lions'  heads,  was  seen  by  the  Gobbo  da  Sangallo  at  S.  Pietro  in 
Vinciilis  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Its  fate  is 
not  known.  Cherubino  Alberti  speaks  of  columns  of  portasanta, 
africano,  etc.,  found  and  broken  (spezzate)  on  one  of  the  peristyles 
of  Trajan's  baths ;  Ligorio  of  a  statue  which  he  calls  "  imagine 
simbolica  del  mondo ;  "  Vacca  of  several  statues  and  "  infiniti 
ornamenti ; "  Aldovi-andi  of  a  statue  of  Hercules  discovered  by 
Niccolo  Stagni  near  the  Sette  Sale ;  Bartoli  of  twenty-five  statues 
"  di  meravigliosa  conservazione  e  bellezza  "  discovered  by  Cardinal 
Trivulzio  in  1547  in  the  same  place  ;  Brunelleschi  of  an  altar 
dedicated  to  Jupiter  by  Vespasian,  discovered  also  at  the  Sette 
Sale,  or  Capoccie,  on  January  8,  1509 ;  Ficoroni  of  a  bronze  lamp 
in  the  shape  of  a  human  head,  with  its  wick  of  threads  of  amianth, 
found  in  1696.  The  Laocoon  was  found,  on  June  1,  1506,  in  the 
vineyard  of  Felice  de  Fredis  at  the  Sette  Sale,  in  a  hall  which,  ac- 
cording to  Pliny  1(H.  N.,  xxxvi.  4,  11),  must  have  formed  part  of 
the  house  of  Titus  (Laocoon,  qui  est  in  Titi  imperatoris  domo, 
opus  omnibus  et  picturse  et  statuarise  artis  prajponendum).  The 
group  must  have  been  removed  by  Trajan  to  his  own  thermfe, 
when  the  site  of  the  Domus  Titi  was  occupied  by  the  new  struc- 
ture ;  but  it  is  also  possible  that  the  Domus  should  have  been 
allowed  to  stand  as  a  historical  monument  in  the  space  between 
the  baths  and  the  Sette  Sale.  Here,  in  fact,  some  exquisitely 
adorned  apartments  were  brought  to  light  in  1683,  the  designs 


THE   COLISEUM  367 

and  description  of  which  I  have  discovered  in  the  Cabinet  des 
Estampes,  Paris,  in  a  vohune  marked  G,  d,  2.  A  statuette  of 
Pluto,  of  indifferent  workmanship,  discovered  in  1814,  before 
the  Chapel  of  S.  Felicita,  is  now  kept  in  tlie  Capitoline  Museum, 
Room  III.,  on  the  ground  floor. 

Literature  on  the  Baths  of  Titus  and  Trajan,  and  on  the  Domus 
AuuEA,  UPON  WHICH  THEY  ARE  BUILT.—  Giuseppe  Carletti,  Le  antiche  camere 
delle  terme  di  Tito,  e  le  loro  pitture  delineate  .  .  .  da  Lodovico  Mirri  (Sniu- 
gliesviecz  and  Brenna).  Rome,  about  1780,  folio  atlas.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Delia  casa 
aurea  di  Nerone  e  della  Torre  cartularia.  Rome,  Boulzaler,  1832.  —  Antonio 
(le  Romaiiis,  Le  antiche  camere  esquiline  dette  comunemente  delle  terme  di 
Tito.  Rome,  1822.  —  Luigi  Canina,  Lttorno  un  frammento  della  pianta  mar- 
morea  capitolina  (in  Memorie  romaue  di  Antichita,  vol.  ii.  1825,  p.  119);  and 
Edijizi,  vol.vi.  pis.  202-204.  —  Stefano  Piale,  Belle  terme  traiane,  della  domus 
Aurea  e  della  Titi  domus.  Rome,  Piiccinelli,  1832.  —  Vue  du  palais  dore  de 
Neron  (tir^  du  Spectacle  de  I'histoire  romaine  par  M.  Philippe,  grav(§  par 
Ransonette),  1776.  —  Cesare  Trivulzio,  in  Lettere pittoriche,  vol.  iii.  n.  196,  p. 
231;  and  Francesco  SaTigallo ,  in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  cccxxix. — 
Rodolfo  Lanciaui,  Picturce  antiqum  cryptarum  romanar.  (in  Bull,  com.,  1895, 
p.  174);  and  Gli  scavi  del  Colosseo  e  le  terme  di  Tito  (ibid.  p.  110}.— Corpus 
Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  369,  1670,  9797,  12,995.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma  Urhis 
Roma,  p.  42,  n.  109. 

XIV.  Amphitheatrum  Flavium  (the  Flavian  Amphitheatre 
—  Coliseum).  —  The  name  "  amphitheatre,"  although  of  Greek 
origin,  dates  from  the  last  century  of  the  Roman  Republic, 
and  was  formed  and  adopted  to  indicate  a  new  type  of  public 
building,  strictly  national,  and  used  for  gladiatorial  fights  (ludi 
gladiatorii)  and  fights  with  wild  beasts  {venationes).  Such  exhibi- 
tions had  taken  place  in  former  times  either  in  the  Forum  or  in 
the  Circus,  or  wherever  a  free  space  could  be  found  inclosed  by 
higher  grounds  or  buildings  from  which  the  spectators  could  com- 
mand the  view.  The  idea  of  a  special  structure  was  suggested,  as 
the  name  itself  implies,  by  the  already  existing  theatre  for  scenic 
plays ;  in  fact,  the  first  amphitheatre,  erected  by  C.  Scribonius 
Curio,  the  partisan  of  Cfesar,  for  the  celebration  of  his  father's 
funeral  games  in  46  b.  c,  was  essentially  a  double  theatre,  viz., 
composed  of  two  theatres,  "  placed  on  pivots,  so  that  they  could  be 
turned  round,  spectators  and  all,  and  placed  either  back  to  back, 
forming  two  separate  stages  for  di-amatic  exhibitions,  or  face  to 
face,  forming  an  amphitheatre  for  the  shows  of  gladiators  and 
wild  beasts."  ^     It  was  not,  however,  till  the  fourth  consulship  of 

1  William  Wayte  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  Antiq.,  i.  107.  Other  passages  of  this 
section  are  quoted  from  the  same  excellent  article. 


368 


UEBS   SACRA   REGION VM   XIV 


Augustus,  30  B.  c,  that  a  permanent  edifice  was  erected  by  Stati- 
lius  Taurus,  in  that  part  of  the  Camx^us  Martius  which  is  now 
called  Monte  Giordano  (Orsini).  The  mound,  about  450  metres 
in  circumference,  and  about  20   metres  high,  formed  by  the  ac- 


THE    COLISEUM  369 

cumulation  of  ruins,  was  crowned  in  the  Middle  Ages  by  a 
shrine  or  chapel  of  Michael  the  archangel,  to  whom  other  con- 
spicuous ruins  (the  mausoleums  of  Augustus  and  Hadrian,  etc.) 
were  dedicated ;  and  this  chapel  was  called  De  Rota,  a  special 
mediaeval  denomination  for  an  amphitheatre.  That  of  Statilius 
Taurus  was  destroyed  in  the  biirning  of  Rome,  a.  d.  64,  and  we 
argue  from  this  fact  that  its  shell  alone  was  built  of  stone  and 
marble,  while  the  seats  and  staircases  were  of  wood. 

The  second  permanent  amphitheatre  was  built  by  Tiberius  (?) 
at  the  extreme  end  of  the  Esquiline,  for  the  training  of  the  vena- 
tores  and  of  "  performing  "  beasts.  The  design  of  Augustus,  how- 
ever, that  an  amphitheatre,  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
capital  of  the  Empire,  should  be  erected  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
city,  was  carried  into  effect  only  by  the  Flavians.  Nothing  can 
furnish  a  better  example  of  the  prodigal  contempt  of  labor  and 
expense  which  the  Emperors  displayed  in  their  architectural  works 
than  the  selection  of  its  site. 

Hie  ubi  conspiciii  veaerabilis  amphitheatri 
Erigitur  moles,  stagna  Neronis  erant. 

Martial,  De  Sped.,  ii.  3, 

The  hollow  between  the  Cfelian,  the  Oppian,  the  Velian,  and  the 
Palatine  was  marshy,  damp,  unsteady  even  before  Nero's  artificial 
lake,  the  abundance  of  the  local  springs  being  so  great  that  any 
accidental  stopping  of  the  drains  produces  an  inundation.  I  have 
already  mentioned  the  event  of  1875-78,  when,  after  the  late  Com- 
mendatore  Rosa  undertook  to  excavate  the  arena  without  providing 
in  advance  an  outlet  to  the  flood,  the  substructures  were  covered 
by  twelve  feet  of  water,  which  four  powerful  engines  could  lower 
only  by  a  few  inches.  We  have  no  account  of  the  means  adopted 
by  Vespasian's  architect  to  overcome  the  difficulty  found  in  getting 
firm  foundations,  and  to  give  the  soil  steadiness.  I  have  seen  them 
explored  but  once,  in  1864-6.5,  by  a  Signor  Testa,  while  searching 
for  the  "  Frangipani  treasure,"  which,  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge, 
had  already  been  found  in  1805  by  Signor  Lezzani,  while  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  buttress  (sperone)  of  Pius  VI.  Signor  Testa 
discovered  the  upper  belt  of  the  substructures,  arched  like  those 
of  the  ambulacra,  above  ground ;  and  underneath  them  a  bed  of 
concrete  which  must  descend  to  a  considerable  depth. 

"  This  wonderful  building,  which  for  magnitude  can  only  be 
compared  to  the  pyramids  of  Egyi^t,  and  which  is  perhaps  the 
most  strikino;  monument  at  once  of  the  material  and  the  moral 


370    .  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

degradation  of  Rome  under  the  Empire,"  was  commenced  by  Ves- 
pasian, and  inaugm-ated  by  Titus  in  the  year  80,  the  event  being 
recorded  by  the  medals  Cohen  (Imper.,  vol.  i.  p.  359,  n.  163 ;  and 
p.  362,  n.  184  i).  An  entry  in  the  Chronographer  of  a.  d.  354 
attributes  to  Domitian  the  completion  of  the  edifice ;  and  the 
phrase  "  amphitheatrum  usque  ad  clypea  (f abricatum  est)  "  has 
been  interpreted  as  if  Domitian  had  added  the  whole  fourth  story, 
besides  the  ornamental  work.  The  statement  is  contradicted  by 
other  documents,  such  as  the  coins  of  Titus,  naentioned  above,  and 
the  celebrated  passage  in  the  "  Acta  Arvalium,"  which  describes 
the  loca  adsignata  in  amphitlieatro  (the  places  assigned)  to  that 
brotherhood  in  the  first  distribution  of  places,  a.  d.  80.^  The 
"  Acta "  speak  of  the  mctnianum  primiim,  secundum,  and  of  the 
iiuenianum  summum  in  Ugneis ;  the  amphitheatre,  therefore,  had 
reached  its  extreme  height  the  very  year  of  its  inauguration.  The 
event  must  have  been  celebrated  by  one  or  more  inscriptions, 
which  are  now  lost.  Hiibner  thought  he  had  found  fragments  of 
them  on  two  or  three  blocks  of  travertine  used  by  Severus  Alex- 
ander in  the  restorations  of  the  upper  belt,  A.  d.  223,  but  Professor 
Spinazzola,  who  climbed  to  the  height  of  the  cornice  at  the  risk  of 
his  life  (March,  1896),  has  found  the  name  of  Nerva  engraved 
upon  the  stones ;  the  inscription,  tlierefore,  refers  to  the  restorations 
of  Nerva  Trajanus  mentioned  by  Pausanias  in  §  xii.  4  of  the  'RKmkSiv. 
Trajan's  work  is  not  recorded  otherwise ;  and  the  "  Vita  Pii "  is 
the  only  authority  concerning  the  repairs  made  at  the  time  of 
Antoninus  Pius. 

On  August  23,  a.  d.  217,  Macrinus  being  Emperor,  the  amphi- 
theatre was  repeatedly  struck  by  lightning.  The  tahulationes  of 
the  fourth  story  caught  fire  and  the  falling  embers  set  the  floor  of 
the  arena  ablaze.  In  fact,  there  must  have  been  more  wood  and 
timber  in  the  structure  than  we  generally  believe.  The  seven 
battalions  of  firemen,  helped  by  the  detachments  of  marines  from 
the  ports  of  Ravenna  and  Misenum,  and  by  a  waterspout  (^  rov 
ohpav'iov  eirippoia,  -rrAeiffrt]  re  Kol  (rcpoBpOTdrr)  jfuo/xepr)  —  Dlon  CasS., 
Ixxviii.  25),  did  not  get  the  fire  under  until  the  stone  and  marble 

1  Compare  Donaldson,  Archit.  numism.,  n.  79;  and  Parker,  Colosseum,  pi. 
24,  n.  1.     There  is  another  coin  forged  by  the  Padovano. 

2  LiTERATUKE.— Gaetano  Marini,  Arvaii,  p.  224.  —  Luigi  Canina,  Edifizi  di 
R.  A.,  vol.  iii.  p.  26.  — Hiibner,  Ann.  Inst.,  1856,  p.  52.  — Theodor  Mommsen, 
Ann.  Inst.,  1859,  p.  125.  — Wilhelm  Henzen,  Acta  Armlium,  p.  cvi.—  Corpus 
Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  2059,  p.  506. —  Christian  Huelsen,  II  jwsfo  degli  Armli  nel 
Colosseo  (in  Bnll.  com.,  1894,  p.  388,  pi.  15). 


THE    COLISEUM  371 

work  had  suffered  great  damage  ;  so  great,  indeed,  that  the  amphi- 
theatre was  abandoned  for  many  years  and  the  games  were  cele- 
brated in  the  circus. 

The  catastrophe  had  taken  place  on  August  23,  the  ver^-  day  of 
the  "  Volkanalia,"  the  celebration  of  which  had  been  forbidden 
by  Macrinus  a  few  days  before.  The  population  was  so  terror- 
stricken  by  the  occurrence  that  the  '•  games  of  A^ulcan  "  were  re- 
established at  once. 

Heliogabalus  began  and  Severus  Alexander  finished  in  223  the 
work  of  reconstruction,  the  funds  being  taken  from  what  the 
Italians  used  to  call  "  fondi  segreti  del  ministero  dell'  interne." 
The  repairs  of  Severus  and  Heliogabalus  can  be  examined  to  the 
best  advantage  from  the  iipj^er  platform ;  they  consist  of  a  patch- 
work of  stones  of  every  description,  trunks  of  columns,  pieces  of 
entablatures,  lintels,  and  architraves  recovered  from  the  portions 
damaged  by  fire  or  taken  away  from  other  buildings.  The  con- 
struction of  this  upper  story  is  altogether  hasty  and  negligent: 
the  joints  of  the  stones  are  irregular  and  the  composite  pilasters 
are  not  all  straight  nor  placed  on  the  same  perpendicular  as  the 
columns  below. 

In  210  the  Emperor  Pliilippus  celebrated  the  millennium  of  the 
city  with  the  secular  games,  in  the  course  of  which  all  the  wild 
beasts  collected  by  Goi'dianus  the  younger  in  view  of  his  Persian 
triumph  were  slain.  The  biographer  mentions  among  them  30 
elephants,  10  elks,  10  tigers,  10  wild  lions  and  60  tame  ones,  30 
tame  leopards,  10  hyenas,  19  giraffes,  20  wild  asses,  40  wild  horses, 
1  hippopotamus,  1  rhinoceros  ;  there  were  also  1000  pairs  of  gladi- 
ators. Another  great  display  of  venationes  took  place  in  a.  d.  281, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  triumph  of  Probus.  One  hundred  of  the 
finest  breed  of  lions  (iubati)  were  let  loose  in  the  arena  at  the  same 
time.  Their  thundering  roars  shook  the  great  amphitheatre  to  its 
foundations.  They  were  followed  by  100  lionesses,  100  leopards 
from  Nubia,  100  leopards  from  Syria,  and  300  bears.  The  slaughter 
of  these  noble  animals  without  offering  them  fair  play  and  letting 
them  fight  for  their  lives  revolted  the  assembh' ;  the  biographer 
calls  the  sight  "  magnum  magis  spectaculum  quam  gratum." 

From  the  time  of  Decius  (a.  d.  2.'50),  who  rejiaired  the  damages 
of  another  fire,  to  the  earthquake  of  422  the  history  of  the  building 
is  not  known.  We  are  well  informed,  on  the  other  hand,  about 
the  campaign  undertaken  by  slowly  spreading  Christian  influence 
against  the  gladiatorial  shows.  In  325,  the  year  of  the  council  of 
Nicsea,  Constantine  addressed  to  Maximus,  prefect  of  the  pr^etorium. 


372  URBS    SACRA    REGION UM   XIV 

the  constitution  "  Cod.  tlieod.,"  xv.  12,  1,  forbidding  those  human 
butcheries ;  but  it  had  no  eftect.  Constantius  and  Julianus  on 
October  16,  857,  and  Arcadius  and  Honorius  in  397,  renewed  the 
injunction  with  about  the  same  results.  They  also  tried  to  show 
a  great  partiality  towards  the  athletes,  whose  performances  were, 
to  be  sure,  less  cruel.  In  365-375  Valentinian  and  his  colleagues 
raised  a  statue  to  a  champion  fighter  named  Philumenos  ;  Theodo- 
sius  did  the  same  in  384-392  to  celebrate  the  deeds  of  another 
athlete  named  Johannes  (a  Christian  or  a  Jew)  ;  ^  yet  the  old  passion 
could  not  be  uprooted  from  among  the  populace.  The  celebrated 
mosaic  representing  the  edltiones  (jladiatorkc  of  the  Symmachi 
(^Nlarini,  Arval.,  165)  belongs  to  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  so  does  the  great  fighting-scene  discovered  near  Torre  Nuova 
in  1834,  illustrated  by  Henzen  in  1845  in  vol.  xii.  of  the  "  Attidell' 
accademia  romana  di  archeologia,"  p.  73. 

The  only  provision  of  the  Imperial  constitution  which  seems  to 
have  been  enforced  was  that  forbidding  the  magistrates  to  condemn 
Christians  to  fight  in  the  arena.  In  one  of  his  strongest  poems 
Prudentius  urges  Honorius  to  put  an  end  to  the  "  detestable  "  prac- 
tice, but  the  feeble  son  of  Theodosius  still  hesitated  to  comply  with 
the  request.  At  last,  in  404,  seventy-five  years  after  the  first  decree 
of  Constantine,  the  self-sacrifice  of  Telemachus,  who  threw  himself 
into  the  arena  and  was  stoned  to  death  by  the  mob  while  he  at- 
tempted to  w'rench  the  deadly  weapons  from  the  fighting  pairs, 
induced  Honorius  to  suppress  forever  the  gladiatorial  shows.^ 
After  this  memorable  year  the  amphitheatre  was  used  occasionally 
for  venationes  or,  perhaps,  for  boxing-matches,  but  no  further 
mention  occurs  of  gladiators. 

The  earthquake  of  422,  described  by  Paul  the  Deacon,  must  have 
done  the  building  serious  injury.  An  inscription  discovered  by 
Fea  in  1813,  and  now  placed  in  the  north  vestibule  (Corpus,  vol. 
vi.  n.  1763),  speaks  of  restorations  made  by  Theodosius  II.  and 
Valentinian  III.  between  425  and  450.  There  are  also  copious 
fragments  of  three  inscriptions,  each  70  or  80  metres  long,  com- 
memorating other  work  done  under  the  latter  Emperor,  by  Flavins 
Paulus,  prefect  of  the  city  in  438.  A  second  ahominandus  terrce 
motus  is  mentioned  in  three  inscriptions  bearing  the  name  of 
Decius    Marius   Venantius    Basilius,   who   repaired   its   damages 

1  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  10,153,  10,154. 

2  LiTERATUKE.  —  Tlieodovetos,  v.  26.  —  Tillemont,  Histoire  des  empei-eurs, 
vol.  v.  533.  — Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Bidl.  crist.,  1868,  p.  84.  — P.  T.  Meier, 
De  rjladiatura  romana.     Bonn,  1881. 


THE    COLISEUM  373 

about  508  a.  d.  These  iu:^criptiolls  are  to  be  seen  in  the  same 
north  vestibule. 

Eutaricus  Cillica,  son-in-law  of  Theodoric,  gave  the  last  show- 
but  one  in  the  arena,  on  the  occasion  of  his  election  to  the  con- 
sulate in  519.  Cassiodorus,  the  king's  secretary,  says  that  wild 
beasts  were  imported  from  Africa,  the  sight  of  which  was  a 
novelty  for  the  living  generation.  The  venationes  of  Anicius 
Maximus  in  b'2'i  are  the  last  i-ecorded  in  the  history  of  the  place. 
Here  I  must  observe  that,  while  repairing  the  drains  and  under- 
ground passages  of  the  arena  in  1878,  we  discovered  a  consider- 
able (quantity  of*  bones,  which  were  identified  by  Professor  de 
Sanctis  as  pertaining  to  domestic  animals,  like  bulls,  horses,  and 
stags.  The  discovery  shows  how  insignificant  the  last  shows  must 
have  been  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  golden  age. 

The  amphitheatre,  its  shell  at  least,  was  intact  in  the  eighth 
century,  when  Bede  wrote  his  famous  proverb,  "  (^uamdiu  staint 
Coliseus  stabit  et  Roma :  quando  cadet  Coliseus  cadet  et  lloma." 
When  was  it  reduced  to  its  present  ruinous  state?  By  whom,  and 
under  what  circumstances,  was  this  done  ?  The  possibility  of  a 
spontaneous  collapse  must  be  rejected.  If  we  look  at  the  Coliseum 
from  the  east  side,  where  it  appears  intact,  and  consider  the 
prodigious  solidity  of  its  structure  and  the  clever  way  its  stones 
are  wedged  and  fastened  into  each  other,  we  are  led  to  discard 
the  idea  that  it  could  be  damaged  to  any  serious  extent  by  age, 
atmospheric  agents,  fire,  or  even  earthquakes.  Yet  it  is  possi- 
ble that  the  shaking  of  tlie  earth  might  have  produced  a  crack 
like  that  which  cuts  the  back  of  the  Pantheon  in  the  Via  della 
Palombella ;  and  this  contingency  is  even  more  probable  if  we 
recollect  that  while  the  drum  of  the  Pantlieon  is  solid,  and  fifteen 
feet  thick  at  least,  the  shell  of  the  Coliseum  is  pierced  by  four 
tiers  of  arclies  and  windows.  The  equilibrium  once  broken,  the 
process  of  disintegration  could  not  be  stopi^ed  by  luiman  power, 
especially  when  shrubs  and  plants  began  to  take  root  in  the  joints 
of  the  stones  and  in  the  opening  of  the  crack,  and  to  act  like 
powerful  levers.  At  the  same  time  we  cannot  deny  the  fact  that 
at  a  given  moment,  the  date  of  which  has  yet  to  be  fixed,  the 
whole  of  the  western  half  of  the  shell  fell  towards  the  Caelian  and 
gave  rise  to  a  hill,  or  rather  to  a  chain  of  hills,  of  loose  blocks  of 
travertine  and  tufa,  which  supplied  Rome  of  the  Renaissance  with 
building-materials  for  the  lapse  of  five  centuries.  The  following 
view  (Fig.  141)  shows  the  precarious  state  in  which  the  inner 
walls  of  the  maeniana  were  left  after  the  collapse  of  the  outside 


374 


UBBS   SACRA  REGWNUM  XIV 


arcades  towards  the  Cfeliau.  The  date  of  this  event  must  be 
restricted  to  the  period  between  1332  and  1362.  On  September  3 
of  the  former  year  the  Roman  nobility  were  still  able  to  meet  in 
the  arena  free  from  ruins  and  take  part  in  a  bullfight  which  cost 
the  lives  of  eighteen  young  patricians,  while  nine  more  were 
badly  mangled.^     In  1362  the  Romans,  the  legate  of  Pope  Urban 


Fig.  141.  —  The  Shell  of  the  Coliseum  after  the  Collapse  of  the  Western  Arcades. 


v.,  and  the  Frangipani  were  already  quarreling  over  the  spoils 
of  the  fallen  giant,  "  de  f aciendo  tiburtinam  "  with  the  stones  of 
the  Coliseum.  The  collapse,  therefore,  must  be  attributed  to  the 
earthquake  of  Petrarch,  which  ruined  so  many  monuments  of 
ancient  and  mediaeval  Rome,  September,  1349.  A  few  years  later, 
in  1386,  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  made  a  present  of  one  third  of  the  Coliseum 
to  the  "  Compagnia  del  Salvatore  ad  sancta  Sanctorum."  The 
event  is  chronicled  to  the  present  day  on  the  walls  of  the  amphi- 
theatre—  above  the  sixty-third  arch,  towards  the  Meta  Sudans  — 

1  Literature.  —  Ludovico  Muratori,  Rerum  Italic.  Scriptores,  vol.  xii.  p. 
332.  —Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  ant'ica,  vol.  i.  p.  413.  — Pietro  Ercole  Visconti, 
Spltndore  di  Roma  nel  secolo  xiv,     Rome,  1867,  p.  23. 


THE    COLISEUM 


375 


by  a  marble  bas-relief  with  the  bust  of  the  Saviour  between  two 
burning  tapers  (Fig.  142) ;  and  above  arch  No.  LXV.  by  the  coats 
of  arms  of  the  Company  and  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  painted  on  white 
plaster. 

The  mountain  of  stone  caused  by  the  fall  of  the  western  belt  — 
known  in  contemporary  documents  as  the  Cosa,  Coxa,  or  Coscia 
Colisei  —  ranks  first  among  the  petrale  or  stone  quarries  within 
the  walls.     It  has  taken  four  centuries  and  fifteen  generations  of 


Fig.  142.  —  The  Insignia  of  the  Compagnia  del  Salvatore  on  the  Coliseum. 

stone-cutters  and  lime-burners  to  exhaust  it.  Its  history  has  yet 
to  be  ■Written.  A  document  published  by  ISIiintz  in  the  "  Reviie 
arch.,"  September,  1876,  certifies  that  one  contractor  alone,  in  the 
space  of  only  nine  months,  in  1452,  could  carry  off  two  thousand 
five  hundred  and  twenty-two  cartloads  of  travertine.  I  have  dis- 
covei'ed  a  brief  of  Eugenius  IV.  (1431-143.9)  in  which  he  expresses 
his  regret  to  hear  that  the  rapacious  hand  of  Roman  masons  had 
been  laid  even  on  the  standing  remains  of  the  amphitheatre ;  and 
while  leaving  them  free  "  ut  de  locis  subterraneis  a  Colised  distan- 
tibus  lapides  evellere  possint,"  he  threatens  them  with  his  wrath 
if  they  dare  to  touch  "  vel  minimum  dicti  Colisei  lapidem."  There 
is  a  tradition,  registered  by  Vacca  (Mem.,  74),  that  the  same  pope 


376  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

inclosed  the  remains  within  a  boundary  wall,  placing  them  under 
the  protection  of  the  monks  of  S.  Maria  Nuova ;  yet  Poggio  Brac- 
ciolini  describes  the  same  as  "  maiori  ex  parte  ad  calcem  deleta." 

The  travertines  for  the  palace  of  Paul  II.  (Palazzo  di  Venezia) 
and  for  the  Pons  yEmilius  (Poiite  Rotto),  restored  on  the  occasion 
of  the  jubilee  of  1575,  were  taken  from  the  same  quarry.  The 
arena  was  transformed  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
into  a  kind  of  Ober-Ammergau  stage,  and  Passion  plays  were  per- 
formed among  the  ivy-clad  ruins  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
perspective  plan  of  Jerusalem,  painted  above  the  main  entrance 
on  the  side  of  the  Sacra  Via,  is  a  recollection  of  these  Passion 
plays  of  the  time  of  Paul  III.  (?).  At  the  same  time  the  Coliseum 
served  as  headquarters  to  those  who  believed  in  witchcraft,  one 
of  the  nocturnal  meetings  (1532)  being  described  by  Benvenuto 
Cellini  in  the  second  book  of  his  memoirs.  Under  Sixtus  V.  the 
monument  ran  the  risk  of  being  converted  into  a  manufactory  of 
woolen  goods  (1585).  The  plans  prepared  by  Domenico  Fontana, 
the  pope's  architect,  are  described  by  Bellori,  and  by  Fontana 
himself  (Delia  Transportatione  dell'  obel.  vatic,  ii.  p.  18).  The 
Compagnia  del  Salvatore  rented  its  part,  March,  1594,  for  a 
glue-factory;  the  contractor,  however,  was  put  in  prison  by  the 
S.  P.  Q.  R.  and  his  lease  canceled.  On  June  28,  1604,  the  same 
S.  P.  Q.  R.  made  a  barter  with  the  Compagnia  on  these  terms : 
that  the  Compagnia  would  let  the  municipal  administration  draw 
from  the  Coscia  Colisei  as  much  travertine  as  was  necessary  to 
finish  the  building  of  the  Museo  Capitolino,  while  the  Compagnia, 
in  its  turn,  was  allowed  to  pull  down  the  famous  Arco  di  Basile 
(over  which  the  Aqua  Claudia  crossed  the  Via  Cselimontana)  to 
use  its  stones  in  the  building  of  the  Hospital  del  Salvatore. 

In  1639  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  transferred  to  a  certain  Bramante  Bassi 
the  right  of  excavating  "  within  the  circuit  of  the  Coliseum,"  one 
third  of  the  produce  being  set  apart  for  the  Capitoline  Chamber. 
On  JNIarch  2,  1697,  the  quarry  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Dome- 
nico Ponziani,  a  contractor  for  muiiicipal  works,  on  the  condition 
that  the  great  blocks  of  travertine  should  be  ti'iturated  on  the  spot, 
and  the  chips  used  in  macadamizing  certain  streets.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  supply  seemed  to  be  exhausted, 
when  another  accident,  the  earthquake  of  February  3,  1703,  filled 
the  quarry  with  new  material.  The  stones  were  mainly  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  Porto  di  Ripetta,  one  of  the  most  graceful 
and  useful  works  of  Clement  XI.,  destroyed  six  or  seven  years  ago 
to  make  room  for  the  new  embankment.     The  same  pope  closed 


THE    COLISEUM  377 

the  lower  arches  with  wooden  railings  and  transformed  the  glorious 
monument  into  a  deposit  of  manm-e  for  the  production  of  saltpetre. 
Benedict  XIV.  consecrated  the  arena  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
had  suffered  martyrdom  in  it ;  the  cross  which  he  erected  in  the 
centre,  and  the  "  stations  "  or  shrines  around  it,  were  pulled  down 
by  Rosa  in  February,  1874.  Pius  VII.  in  1805,  Leo  XII.  in  1825, 
Gregory  XVI.  in  1845,  and  Pius  IX.  in  1852  contributed  liberally 
to  save  the  amphitheatre  from  further  degradation,  by  supporting 
the  falling  portions  with  great  buttresses.  The  lower  floor  and  a 
portion  of  the  arena  were  excavated  under  the  French  administra- 
tion between  1810  and  1811.  Other  excavations  were  undertaken 
by  Rosa  in  1874,  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  many  epigraphic 
and  architectural  fi-agments,  and  made  students  more  closely  ac- 
quainted with  the  arrangement  of  the  arena  and  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  venationes. 

The  flora  of  the  Coliseum  was  once  famous.  Sebastian!  enu- 
merates 260  species  in  his  "  Flora  Colisea,"  and  their  number  was 
subsequently  increased  to  420  by  Deakin.  These  materials  for  a 
hortus  siccus,  so  dear  to  the  visitors  of  our  ruins,  were  destroyed 
by  Rosa  in  1871,  and  the  ruins  scraped  and  shaven  clean,  it  being 
feared  by  him  that  the  action  of  roots  would  accelerate  the  disin- 
tegration of  the  great  structure. 

The  amphitheatre  does  not  stand  in  a  commanding  position : 
the  heights  of  the  Oppian  on  the  east,  of  the  Caelian  on  the  south, 
of  the  Palatine  on  the  west,  of  the  Velia  on  the  north,  surround  it 
so  as  to  leave  but  one  narrow  outlet  for  the  spring  and  rain  water, 
that  of  the  Via  di  S.  Gregorio.  The  state  of  things  must  have 
been  even  worse  in  classic  times,  when  those  heights  were  respec- 
tively crowmed  by  the  baths  of  Titus  and  Trajan,  by  the  Temple 
of  Claudius,  by  the  Palace  of  the  Cassars,  and  by  the  Temple  of 
Venus  and  Rome.  To  mend  matters  as  well  as  the  local  condi- 
tions would  allow,  the  amphitheatre  was  surrounded  first  by  a 
pavement,  17.50  metres  wide,  and  then  by  a  street  which  expanded 
into  squares  at  either  end  of  the  longest  diameter  (Fig.  140).  The 
pavement,  made  with  slabs  of  travertine,  was  lined  by  a  set  of 
stone  cippi,  each  fm-nished  with  two  pairs  of  bronze  rings,  through 
which  wooden  bars  were  made  to  slide  (Fig.  143).  The  explana- 
tion of  this  arrangement,  and  the  reason  why  the  amphitheatre 
was  provided  with  this  outer  temporary  fence,  must  be  found  in 
the  necessity  of  regulating  the  movement  of  the  crowd  on  days 
when  there  were  spectacles.  A  double  control  was  established  on 
such  occasions  :  one  at  the  gates  of  this  outer  fence,  at  which  the 


378 


URBS   SACRA   REGJONUM   XIV 


holders  of  tickets  were  admitted  in  a  general  way;  another  at 
each  of  the  80  (76)  arches  of  the  ground  floor,  where  the  number 
of  the  ma^nianum,  of  the  cuneus,  of  the  vomitorium,  and  of  the 
step  and  the  seat  marked  in  the  ticket  were  verified. 


Fig.  143, 


Cipiii  .siinciundiiig  the  Coliseum. 


The  numbering  of  the  arches  begins  from  the  side  of  the  Cfelian, 
and  precisely  from  the  first  to  the  right  of  the  west  state  entrance. 
Nineteen  arches  are  numbered  on  each  of  the  four  sectors  of  the 
ellipse,  making  a  total  of  76,  the  foiir  state  entrances  not  being 


THE    COLISEUM  379 

numbered.  Two  of  these  last  were  reserved  for  the  Imperial  fam- 
ily and  grand  dignitaries,  namely,  those  between  Nos.  LXXVI. 
and  I.  on  the  side  of  the  Caelian,  and  between  Nos.  XXXVIII. 
and  XXXIX.  on  the  side  of  the  Oppian.  They  ai'e  more  spacious 
and  better  adorned  than  the  other  two  ;  in  fact,  the  (once)  painted 
and  gilded  stucco  reliefs  on  the  walls  and  on  the  vault  of  the  east 
passage  rank  among  the  finest  specimens  of  Roman  decorative 
art,  and  have  been  studied  with  delight  by  the  artists  of  the 
Renaissance.  I  have  found  copies  of  them  in  the  Queen's  library 
at  Windsor  Castle  (Cod.  Vincenzo  Vittoria,  f.  24) ;  in  vol.  xi.  f. 
29  of  the  Laing  collection  in  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy,  PMin- 
biirgh ;  in  box  of  drawings  No.  IV.  at  Chatsworth,  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire's  seat  in  Derbyshire ;  and  in  plates  40  and  61  of 
Destailleur's  album  in  the  Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin.  Very 
few  visitors  of  the  Coliseum  are  aware  of  their  existence. 

In  entering  the  great  building  we  must  direct  om-  investiga- 
tions, first,  to  the  way  in  which  the  vast  crowds  of  spectators  were 
handled,  directed,  and  distributed  over  the  seats  on  exhibition 
days;  secondly,  to  the  arrangement  of  the  arena  and  of  its  sub- 
structures. 

The  official  Almanac  of  354  says  that  the  amphitheatre  could 
accommodate  87,000  spectators.  Professor  Iluelsen,  considering 
that  there  is  certainly  no  room  for  more  than  45,000  jjeople,  per- 
haps for  50,000  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  pulloti  who  stood 
looking  at  the  performance  from  the  top  of  the  attic,  attributes  to 
the  term  "  locus  "  (amphitheatrum  capit  loca  Ixxxvii)  the  significa- 
tion not  of  "place"  or  "seat"  but  of  "length  in  feet."  In  other 
words,  the  Coliseum  contained,  according  to  Professor  Huelsen, 
87,000  feet  of  seats,  each  spectator  occupying  a  space  of  18  or  20 
inches.^  There  was  accommodation,  therefore,  for  only  50,000 
people.  Such  a  crowd  is,  at  all  events,  very  large  and  difficult  to 
deal  with,  and  the  most  minute  precautions  were  taken  to  direct 
its  movements  towards  the  place  of  destination,  and  again  towards 
the  exits  when  the  show  was  over.  The  entrances,  staircases, 
passages,  and  vomitories  were  contrived  with  such  exquisite  skill 
that  each  person,  whether  of  tlie  senatorial,  of  the  equestrian,  or 
of  the  plebeian  order,  could  gain  his  seat  without  trouble  or  con- 
fusion.    An  ivory  ticket  for  the  amphitheatre  of  Frusino  is  said 

1  The  word  "locvs,"  in  its  genuine  signification  oi place  or  sent,  is  still  in 
use  in  Rome.  The  crv  of  men  offering  places  and  seats  for  hire  on  the  occasion 
of  a  public  pageant  or  exhibition  of  any  kind  is,  "ecco  sedie,  ecco  lochi," 
"here  are  chairs,  here  are  places." 


380  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

to  be  labeled  "  the  sixth  cuneus,  lowest  row,  seat  No.  18 ; "  in 
those  for  the  Coliseum  the  number  of  the  entrance  arch  must 
also  have  been  specified,  and,  indirectly,  that  of  the  stairs  leading 
to  the  proper  mainianum. 

The  seats  of  honor  were  on  tlie  ledge  above  the  podium,  as  the 
nearest  to  the  arena  and  the  most  accessible  from  the  four  state 
entrances.  The  ledge  could  contain  only  three  rows  of  (marble  ?) 
thrones,  some  of  which,  transformed  into  episcopal  chairs  in  our 
mediaeval  churches,  are  still  in  existence  (IS.  Stefano  Rotondo,  S. 
Gregorio,  the  biga  of  the  Vatican  Museum,  etc.).  Cushions  or 
pulvini  had  come  into  fashion  since  the  time  of  Caligula,  before 
the  amphitheatre  was  built. 

No  trace  is  left  of  the  Imperial  suggestum  nor  of  the  cubicula 
connected  with  it.  The  balcony  or  pulpit  (editoris  tribunal)  re- 
served for  the  magistrate  who  exhibited  the  games  has  also  dis- 
appeared. We  have,  on  the  other  hand,  many  epigraphic  i-ecords 
of  the  places  pertaining  to  senators,  knights,  high  priests,  ambas- 
sadors, guests  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.,  etc.,  according  to  the  distribution 
made  in  a.  d.  80  by  the  Imperial  commissioner,  Manius  Laberius 
Maximus,  assisted  by  an  officer  named  Thyrsus.  The  places  were 
not  assigned  to  individuals,  but  collectively  to  the  body  or  college 
or  corporation  to  wliich  they  belonged  ;  for  instance,  "  to  the  ex- 
consuls,  one  hundred  and  ten  feet,"  or,  "to  the  school-teachers, 
.  .  .  feet."  Towards  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  this  divi- 
sion by  classes  was  given  up,  and  spaces  for  one  or  more  seats 
were  permanently  occupied  by  the  same  individual,  or  by  the  same 
family,  whose  name  was  accordingly  engraved  on  the  marble 
pavement  or  on  the  parapet  of  the  podium ;  and  as  families  were 
extinguished  in  the  course  of  years,  and  individuals  died  away, 
the  names  were  erased,  and  those  of  the  newcomers  engraved. 
Some  of  the  marble  slabs  appear  to  be  reduced  to  half  their  ori- 
ginal size  by  this  process  of  erasing  and  substituting  names.  The 
following  cut  (Fig.  144)  represents  one  of  the  steps  from  the  sena- 
torial ranks  (?),  with  the  name  of  an  Insteius  most  negligently 
cut  upon  it.  I  have  published  in  the  "  Bull,  com."  of  1880  one 
hundred  and  ninety-three  inscriptions  of  seats,  and  a  few  more 
have  been  discovered  since.  The  "  Corpus  inscriptionum  "  of  the 
Flavian  amphitheatre  numbers  over  two  hundred  and  sixty  speci- 
mens, which,  if  properly  arranged  and  exhibited  on  the  spot, 
would  revive  its  history  and  make  us  conversant  with  details 
which  it  is  difficult  to  make  out  from  books  and  manuals.  The 
amphitlieatre,  in  fact,  is  not  so  poor  in  architectural  or  ornamental 


THE    COLISEUM 


381 


marbles  as  we  make  it  appear  to  be.  It  would  be  an  easy  and 
also  a  most  useful  and  noble  undertaking  to  put  back  these  mar- 
bles into  theii-  proper  places,  and  fully  restore  one  of  the  "  cunei " 
of  this  wonderful  structure.  There  are  about  forty  shafts  of 
columns  belonging  to  the  upper  loggia,  and  as  many  capitals  of 
the  Corinthian  order,  some  of  the  time  of  the  Flavians,  others 
of  the  fourth  century ;  there  are  hundreds  of  marble  steps  and 
seats,  and  many  exquisite  screens  or  parapets  once  placed  on  the 
side  or  above  the  vomitoria;  there  are  inscriptions  making  the 
round  of  the  edifice  ;   and  yet  all  these  valuable  materials  are 


"!y'';rp 


Fig.  144.  —  Step-seat  of  the  Coliseum,  with  the  Name  of  a  Fabius  lusteius. 

allowed  to  lie  useless  and  scattered  in  great  confusion,  and  some 
pieces  have  actually  been  taken  away  and  removed  I  know  not 
whither. 

The  arena  or  central  open  space,  where  the  shows  took  place, 
derived  its  name  from  the  sand  with  which  it  was  covered  for  the 
purpose  of  absorbing  the  blood.  Such  Emperors  as  Caligula, 
Nero,  and  Carinus  showed  their  prodigality  by  using  cinnabar  and 
borax  instead  of  the  common  arena.  It  was  composed  of  a  boarded 
floor  supported  by  beams  which  rested  on  a  series  of  walls,  some 
parallel  with  the  main  axis,  some  following  the  curve  of  the  ellipse 


382 


URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


(see  Fig.  145).  A  great  piece  of  wooden  floor  was  discovered  in 
the  excavations  of  1874  at  the  bottom  of  the  middle  corridor,  as 
shown  in  the  following  illustration,  but  we  are  not  sure  whether 
it  did  really  belong  to  the  arena  or  to  the  floor  below  it.  I  am  in 
favor  of  the  second  surmise,  and  I  believe  that  when  the  substruc- 
tures of  the  amphitheatre  became  damp  and  wet  on  account  of  the 


Fig.  145. 


-  Wooden  Floor  discovered  in  1874  in  the  Substructures  of  the  Arena  of 
the  Coliseum. 


THE    COLISEUM  383 

neglect  in  keeping  the  drains  in  repair,  the  old  floor  of  opus  spica- 
tum  must  have  been  covered  with  a  floor  of  wood  resting  on  those 
supports  of  stone,  which  appear  so  distinctly  in  the  illustration 
above.  Every  trace  of  the  woodwork  has  been  allowed  to  disappear 
since  1874.  In  the  same  excavations  of  1874-75  the  sockets  were 
discovered  to  which  windlasses,  capstans,  or  lifts  (peymata)  were 
fixed,  by  which  the  cages  of  wild  animals  were  i-aised  to  the  level 
of  the  trapdoors  of  the  arena.  Lifts,  cages,  and  trapdoors  are 
represented  bj-  Parker  in  plate  xvi.  of  his  work  on  the  Coliseum. 
AVe  must  not  suppose  that  the  animals  could  be  kept  for  any 
length  of  time  in  the  dark  and  stuffy  dens  below  the  arena  or  the 
podium.  They  were  kept  in  readiness  in  the  west  porticoes  of  the 
C'laudium  and  brought  up  in  rolling  cages  as  they  were  wanted. 
From  this  point  of  view,  that  is,  from  the  point  of  view  of  exhibi- 
tion of  gladiatorial  or  hunting  shows,  the  Coliseum  appears  to  us 
as  the  capital  of  a  kingdom  of  its  own,  as  the  centre  of  a  vast 
administration,  with  branch  offices  in  Syi'ia,  in  Africa,  on  the  Red 
Sea,  and  head  offices  in  Rome  itself,  occupying  large  tracts  of  the 
second,  thii'd,  fifth,  and  sixth  regions. 

Literature.  — .Justus  Lipsius,  De  amphitheatro  (in  Graevii  Thesaur.,  vol. 
ix.  p.  1292,  chs.  xi.-xv.).  —  Giuseppe  Suarez,  Diatriba  de  foraminibiis  lap'ulum 
in  priscis  iecUJicih.  Rome,  1651.  —  Carlo  Foiitaiia,  Z'  anfiteatni  Jlavio  descritto 
e  delineatu.  Aia,  172.5.  —  Scipioue  Maffei,  Dtyli  (infiteatri.  Verona,  1727. — 
Giovanni  Marangoni,  Delle  memorie  sacre  e  profane  dell'  unfit.  Jiav.  Rome, 
1745.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Osservazioni  suW  arena  e  sul  podio  deW  unfit,  flar.,  Rome, 
181.3;  Ntiove  osservazioni,  Rome,  1814;  and  Xotizie  degli  scavi  dell'  anfit.fiur., 
Rome,  1813.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  529.  —  Luigi  Canina, 
Edifizii  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  iii.  p.  2-3;  and  vol.  iv.  pis.  164-177.  —  Hiibner, 
Iscrizioni  esistenti  sui  sedili  dei  teutri  ed  anfiteatni  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1856,  p.  52, 
pi.  12).  —  Eflisio  Tocco,  Dell'  anfit.fiur.  e  dei  gladiatori  (in  Buonarroti,  1869 
and  1870).  —  Fabio  Gori,  Le  memorie  storiche  dell'  anfit.fiur.  Rome,  1874. — 
J.  H.  Parker,  The  Flavian  Amphith.  Oxford,  London,  1870. — .Joachim  Mar- 
quardt,  Staatsvericaltunff,  vol.  in.  p.  462.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  fscrizioni  dell' 
an/.fiav.  (in  Bull,  com.,  1880,  p.  211,  pis.  xxi.-xxiii.).  —Christian  Huelsen, 
Bull',  com.,  1894,  p.  312. 

XV.  Connected  with  the  venationes  were  the  Vivarium,  the 
Amphitheatrum  Castrense,  and  the  Claudium ;  with  the  gladiato- 
rial shows,  the  Samiarium,  Siioliarium.  Armamentarium,  Ludus 
^lagnus,  Ludus  Dacicus,  Ludus  Matutinus ;  with  athletic  sports, 
the  Curia  Athletaruni ;  and  lastly,  with  shows  in  general,  the 
Castra  Misenatium  (and  Ravennatium?). 

The  Vivarium  was  a  large  rectangle  built  on  the  type  of  a  Ro- 
man camp,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Castra  Prsetoria.     (See  Forma 


384 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


Urbis,  pi.  xi.)  It  was  composed  of  an  inclosui-e  wall  built  of  great 
blocks  of  stone  like  that  of  the  barracks  of  the  second  legion, 
Parthica,  at  Albano ;  and  of  a  row  of  cells  against  it,  where  the 
menagerie  was  kept.  A  euripus  or  channel,  with  plenty  of  flush- 
ing water,  ran  in  front  of  the  inclosures.  The  barracks  of  the 
venatores  and  of  the  custodies  vivarii,  a  special  detachment  of  the 
Prpetorians  to  which  the  care  of  the  establishment  w^as  intrusted, 
occupied  probably  the  centre  of  the  rectangle. 

The  Vivariixm,  separated  from  the  Pr?etorian  camp  by  a  street 
starting  from  the  Porta  Chiusa  of  the  walls  of  Aurelian,  is  men- 
tioned very  often  in  medifeval  documents,  under  the  name  of 
"  Vivariolum,"  and  its  remains  appear  in  plans  and  perspective 
views  of  Rome  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  of  an  edifice  of  great 
importance.  Its  last  traces  disappeared  in  1876.  See  Procopius, 
Goth.,  i.  22.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  130.  —  Bull.  arch.  com.  1876,  p.  188. 
—  Forma  Urbis  Romce,  pi.  xi. 


Fig.  14G.  —  Palladio's  Diagrams  of  the  Amphitheatrum  Castrense. 


THE   AMPHITHEATRUM   CASTRENSE  385 

The  Amphitheatrum  Castrexse,  a  small  amphitheatre  built 
at  the  extreme  end  of  the  Esquiline  for  the  training  of  the  vena- 
tores,  and  also  for  the  taming  and  training  of  animals  destined  to 
perform  special  games  in  the  arena.  Its  construction  has  been 
attributed  to  Tiberius,  like  that  of  the  Praetorian  camp,  but  con- 
sidering that  at  the  time  of  that  Emperor  there  was  no  state 
amphitheatre  in  Rome  —  that  of  Statilius  Taurus  being  private 
property  —  I  am  inclined  to  refer  it  to  a  much  later  period,  pos- 
sibly to  the  times  of  Severus  and  Caracalla.  Aurelian  and  Hono- 
rius  included  part  of  the  edifice  in  their  line  of  walls.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  Palladio  was  able  to  measure  it  in  its  entirety, 
as  shown  by  the  drawing  in  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire, which  is  here  reproduced  for  the  first  time.     (Fig.  146.) 

Since  Palladio's  time  the  amphitheatre  has  suffered  great  dam- 
age. The  upper  floor  has  disappeared,  and  so  have  the  mseniana 
and  the  steps  which  surrounded  the  arena.  The  arena  has  been 
excavated  at  least  six  times.  Ficoroni  (Roma  antica,  p.  121) 
speaks  of  discoveries  made  towards  1740  by  the  prior  of  Santa 
Croce,  concerning  the  crj-pts,  which  were  full  of  "  ossa  di  grossi 
animali."     Other  excavations  made  in  1828  led  to  no  results. 

The  present  remains  of  the  amphitheatre  are  seen  to  the  best 
advantage  from  the  Sti-ada  delle  Mura,  between  the  Porta  S.  Gio- 
vamii  and  the  Porta  Maggiore. 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  j).  399.  —  Adolf  Becker, 
7)e  Mtiri.t,  ])p.  r2(),  121. —  Kodnlfo  Lanciani,  /  amientarti  di  Frontino,  p.  217, 
n.  34,  35. 

The  Clai'dium.  —  The  Vivarium  being  one  mile  and  a  quarter 
distant  from  the  Coliseum,  the  beasts  destined  to  a  special  venatio 
were  removed  (I  suppose  by  night)  to  a  place  much  nearer  to  the 
show,  viz.,  to  the  substructures  of  the  Temple  of  Claudius  by  SS. 
Giovanni  e  Paolo,  which  communicated  with  those  of  the  arena 
by  means  of  an  underground  passage.  This  passage  can  still  be 
seen  ;  it  enters  the  amphitheatre  by  the  fifth  arch  on  the  right  of 
the  west  state  entrance,  and  leads  to  the  lifts  and  to  the  trapdoors 
described  above.     (See  Fig.  140.) 

The  Samiarium  —  a  name  otherwise  unknown  —  is  described 
by  some  as  a  temporary  hosj^ital  where  the  wounded  gladiators 
were  given  first  aid,  and  by  others  as  the  factory  in  which  the 
weapons  for  gladiatorial  fights  were  made  or  repaired. 

The  Spoliarium  corresponds  to  the  "  Morgue,"  to  which  the 
bodies  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  arena  were  removed. 


386 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


The  Armamentarium  must  be  understood  as  the  arsenal  or 
armory  where  the  bucklers  (pannce)  and  the  short  crooked  cut- 
lasses (siccb)  of  the  Threces ;  the  shields  (^scuta),  crested  helmets 
(galece  cmta^cc),  wadded  breastplates  (spongice),  and  greaves  (oc?'e«;) 
of  the  Samnites ;  the  coats  of  mail  of  the  Hoplomachi ;  the  nets 
(iaculd)  and  three-pointed  spears  {fuscince)  of  the  Retiarii,  were 
kept.  The  pedestal  mentioned  in  "  Corpus,"  n.  999,  must  have 
been  found  among  the  ruins  of  the  Armamentarium.  The  site  of 
these  three  buildings  is  only  appi'oximately  known. 

Regular  academies,  called  Ludi  Gladiatorii,  or  simply  Ludi, 
were  instituted  for  the  training  of  prize-fighters,  under  the  care 
of  a  kumta.     The  tiroiu's,  or  uudrilled   novices,  were   instructed 

in  the  principles  of  tlieir  art,  and 
made  to  practice  with  heavy  wooden 
swords  called  "  rudes,"  while  their 
bodies  were  brought  into  condition 
by  regular  exercise  and  special  food 
{sagina).  Many  of  these  ludi  were 
kept  by  private  speculators,  who 
sold  or  let  out  for  hire  the  "  paria 
gladiatorum  "  exhibited  in  country 
towns ;  but  the  Roman  ludi  were  a 
regular  Imperial  institution,  man- 
aged by  Imperial  officers.  There 
were  four  of  them,  the  INIagiuis,  the 
Gallicus,  the  Dacicus,  and  the  JVIa- 
tutinus.  The  first  is  represented  in 
fragment  i.  3  of  the  marble  plan ; 
its  remains  were  excavated  by  Reinach  in  1875,  in  the  level  stretch 
of  ground  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Labicana  and  the  Via  delle 
Sette  Sale.  (See  Forma  Urbis,  pi.  xxx.)  It  contained  an  oval  ring 
surrounded  by  porticoes  and  by  rows  of  cells.  The  Ludi  Gallicus 
and  Dacicus  were  named  after  the  nationality  of  the  gladiators 
trained  in  them.  The  Matutinus  is  not  considered  by  Preller  as  a 
school  of  gladiators,  but  as  a  place  where  the  venationes  w^ere  pre- 
pared, because  these  were  exhibited  in  the  morning,  whilst  the 
gladiatorial  shows  took  place  at  a  later  hour  of  the  day.  The 
Chronicle  of  Cassiodorus  attributes  to  Domitian  the  institution 
of  the  Ludus  Matutinus,  whilst  the  Catalogue  of  Ekkardt  makes 
him  responsible  for  the  institution  of  all  four,  as  a  necessary  com- 
plement to  the  great  amphitheatre  which  his  father  had  begun  and 
his  brother  had  continued. 


Fig.  147.  —  Plan  of  the  Ludus  Magnus. 


AXXEXES    TO    THE   AMPHITHEATRE  387 

These  establishments  were  under  the  management  of  a  large 
staff  of  officers,  like  the  M.  Ulpius  Callistus,  pnvpositiis  armamen- 
taria liidi  magni  (Corpus,  n.  10,164);  Tigris,  cursor  (n.  10,165); 
Nymphodotus,  dispcnsator  (n.  10,166)  ;  M.  Calpurnius,  medicus,  etc., 
dii'ected  by  a  governor  or  procuratur  familim  (jladiatorke  Ccesaris 
iiidi  magni,  selected  from  the  equestrian  ranks.  We  hear  also  of  a 
curator  Spoliarii,  of  a  medicus  ludi  Matutini  chirurgus,  of  a  medicus 
ludi  (rallici,  etc. 

The  Summum  Choragium,  placed  between  the  Castra  Mise- 
natiuin  and  the  Ludus  INlagnus,  was  also  an  annex  to  the  amphi- 
theatre, but  nothing  is  known  about  its  name,  origin,  and  special 
appointment.  Its  staff  of  officers  was  even  larger  aiad  of  a  higher 
standard  than  that  of  the  ludi.  (See  Coi-pus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  297, 
776,  8950,  10,083-10,087.)  Canina  thinks  that  it  was  a  repository 
for  the  pegmata  or  machinery  and  scenery  required  for  the  vena- 
tiones. 

The  Castka  Misenath'm  were  the  barracks  of  the  marines 
fi-om  the  fleet  of  INIisenum,  called  to  Rome  for  the  manoeuvring  of 
the  velarium  or  awning  of  the  amphitheatre.  The  site  of  these 
buildings,  between  the  Baths  of  Trajan  and  the  Summum  Chora- 
gium, was  discovered  on  March  9,  1812.  In  1888,  however,  the 
whole  line  of  cells  forming  the  south  side  of  the  quadrangle  was 
brought  to  light  when  the  drain  of  the  Via  Labicana  was  opened. 
(See  Forma  Urbis,  pi.  xxx. ;  Corpus,  n.  1091 ;  Kaibel,  Inscr.  gr. 
Ital.,  9.56.) 

LiTKRATL'RE.—  Corpus  Imcr.,  vol.  vi.  6,  6-31,  6-32,  1063,  10H4, 1091.  —  AVilhclni 
Henzen,  Ann.  Inst.,  1862,  p.  64  ;  and  Atti  Accad.  pontif.  arch.,  vol.  xii.  p. 
73-157. — Theodor  Mommsen,  Hermes,  v.  303. — Heinrich  .Jordan,  Tipoijr., 
ii.  116  ;  and  Forma,  pi.  i.  n.  5.  —  .Joachim  Marquardt,  Staatsoerwaltung,  vol. 
i.  p.  538.  —  Gaetano  Marini,  Inscr.  albane,  c.  12.  —  Ridolfino  Venuti,  Alar- 
morn  nJhana.  Rome,  1756.  —  Domenico  Scutillo,  De.  collcf/io  r/ladiator.  Rome, 
1756.  —  Luigi  Caniua,  Indie.  Topogr.,  p.  112. 

The  Curia  Athletarum  or  HT2TIKH  2TNOA02  was  discovered 
in  February,  1.569,  and  again  in  1660-1661  and  171:3-1716,  in  the 
garden  of  S.  Pietro  in  Yincoli,  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  Baths 
of  Trajan,  where  remains  of  their  meeting-hall  can  still  be  seen 
(Villa  Ilickson  Field).  These  remains,  as  well  as  the  athletic 
brotherhood  who  had  here  their  headquarters,  have  been  illus- 
trated by  — 

Pirro  Ligorio,  Cod.  torin.,  xv.  95. — Ottavio  Falconieri,  Inscr.  athl.  Romm 
reperta.  Rome,  1668.  —  Kaihel,  Inscr.  gr.  Sicil.  et  Ital.,  n.  1102-1110.— 
Corpus  Inscr.  Lnt.,  10,1-53,  10,154,  10,161.  —  SL'rafino  Ricci,  La  curia  Athle- 
tarum (in  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1891,  p.  185,  pi.  vii.). 


388  URBS   SACRA   REGWNUM   XIV 


THE   VIMINAL,    THE  CESPIAN,    THE    SUBURA,   AND  THE  VICUS 

PATRICH. 

Regio  IV. 

XVI.  The  fourth  region  of  Augustus,  named  Sacra  Via  from  the 
historical  street  wliich  formed  its  southwestern  boundary,  extended 
over  the  Viminal  and  the  Cespian  as  far  as  the  present  railway 
station.  The  "  Notitia "  and  the  "  Curiosum "  give  the  fourth 
region  a  circumference  of  13,000  feet  (3861  metres),  and  say  it  con- 
tained 8  parishes,  2757  tenement-houses,  88  palaces,  65  baths,  81 
fountains,  and  15  bakeries.  Its  principal  edifices,  the  temples  of 
Venus  and  Rome,  of  the  Sacra  Urbs,  of  Romulus,  of  Antoninus 
and  Faustina,  the  basilicse  Emilia  and  Constantiniana,  the  Colos- 
sus of  Nero,  and  the  Forum  Transitorium  have  been  described  al- 
ready. There  are  no  important  remains  visible  in  the  other  parts 
of  the  region,  nor  excavations  of  any  kind ;  but  a  walk  through 
the  Argiletum  (Via  della  Madonna  de'  Monti),  the  Subura  (Via 
Leonina),  the  Clivus  Suburanus  (Via  di  S.  Lucia  in  Silice),  and  the 
Vicus  Patricii  (Via  Urbana)  cannot  fail  to  attract  the  student  on 
account  of  its  classic  associations,  and  also  of  the  great  discoveries 
which  have  taken  place  in  the  adjoining  districts. 

XVII.  The  Subura.  —  The  Argiletum  was  the  great  book- 
market,  the  Paternoster  Row  of  ancient  Rome.  Here  the  librarii 
and  the  andquarii  (booksellers  and  copyists)  kept  their  well-fur- 
nished shops,  so  often  mentioned  by  Martial  and  Horace.  Adver- 
tisements giving  the  title  and  price  of  literary  novelties  wei-e  hung 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance  door.  Each  of  the  leading  book- 
sellers secured  the  privilege  of  the  works  of  a  leading  author ;  the 
Sosii  brothers  were  the  agents  for  Horace,  Atrectus  and  Secundus 
the  publishers  of  Martial,  Tryphon  of  Quintilian,  and  Dorus  of 
Seneca.     (See  Ancient  Rome,  p.  183.) 

The  Subura  is  generally  considered  to  have  been  the  noisiest, 
the  most  vvdgar  and  licentious  street  of  the  city.  Martial  calls  it 
"  clamosa,"  and  Juvenal  says  he  preferred  living  in  the  island  of 
Procida  rather  than  in  such  a  rowdy  neighborhood,  and  yet  his- 
torical personages  did  not  disdain  to  live  in  it,  Julius  Csesar 
(Sueton.,  46)  and  L.  Arruntius  Stella  (Martial,  xii.  3)  being  among 
them. 

The  long  street  was  divided  into  sections.  First  came  the 
Fauces  Suburse,  called  also  the  Prima  Subura.     Then  we  hear  of 


THE   SUBURA 


389 


a  Subui-a  Maior  •  (the  rendezvous  of  pickpockets,  who  would 
assemble  at  the  close  of  the  day  in  its  dark  alleys  to  dispose  of  the 
produce  of  their  thefts),  which  seems  to  call  for  a  Subura  Minor. 
There  was  also  a  tract  called  ad  turrbn  Mamiliam.  We  hear  of 
this  place  iu  connection  with  the  contest  between  the  Suburanenses 
and  the  Sacravienses  for  the  possession  of  the  head  of  the  horse 
which  was  slain  in  honor  of  Mars  on  October  15,  at  a  place  called 
"  ad  Ciconias  nixas  "  near  the  Trigarium.  If  the  bloody  trophy 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Sacravienses  it  was  to  be  affixed  to 
the  walls  of  the  Regia;  if  the  Suburanenses  gained  the  contest,  it 
was  to  be  affixed  to  the  Turris  Mam  ilia.  The  steep  gradient  at  the 
top  of  the  valley,  now  called  Salita  di  S.  Lucia  in  Silice,  is  described 
by  Martial  as  a  bad  bit  of  road,  with  the  pavement  always  wet 
and  slippery,  and  crowds  of  beasts  of  burden  dragging  heavy  loads 
towards  the  uplands  of  the  Esquiline. 

alta  Suburani  vincenda  est  semita  clivi 

et  numquam  sicco  sordida  saxa  gradu  : 

vixque  datur  longas  mulorum  rumpere  mandras, 

quisque  trahi  muho  marmora  fune  vides.     (V.  22.  See  x.  19.) 

Ancient  epitaphs  speak  of  a  Q.  Gavius,  crepidarius  de  Subura 
(shoemaker)  ;  of  a  Crescentio,  ferrarius  de  Subura  (ironmonger)  ; 
of  a  L.  Marius,  lanarius  de  Subura  (merchant  of  woolen  goods)  ; 
and  of  a  M.  Livius,  prajco  (public  crier).  The  name  has  survived 
in  the  present  "  piazzetta  della  Suburra,"  and  in  the  churches  of 
S.  Agata,  S.  Barbara,  S.  Bartolomeo,  and  S.  Salvatore. 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma  Urhia,  pi.  ii.  8.  —  Corpus  Tnscr., 
vol.  vi.  n.  1953(1956),  9284,  9399,9491,  d52G.  — Bull.  arch,  com.,  1883,  p.  398. 
—  Fioravante  Martinelli,  Dlacon.  S.  Af/aihce.  Kome,  Wn.— Corpus  Inscr., 
voluminis  i.  editio  altera,  1893,  p.  332.  —  Emiliano  Sarti,  Archivio  Societa 
storia patria, vol.  ix.  p.  20. 

Near  the  top  of  the  ascent,  the  Clivus  Suburanus  was  crossed  by 
the  Vicus  Sobrius.  The  compital  shrine  which  stood  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  streets  was  discovered  in  April,  1888  (corner  of  Via 
di  S.  Martino  and  Via  dei  Quattro  Cantoni),  and  I  have  described 
and  illustrated  it  in  "  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  34.  The 
inscription  on  the  face  of  the  altar,  still  left  standing,  says  "  the 
Emperor  Augustus  dedicated  this  shrine  (and  statue)  to  Mercury, 
in  the  year  of  the  city  744,  from  money  received  as  a  new  year's  gift, 
while  absent  from  Rome."  The  statue  was  nicknamed  Mercurius 
Sobrius,  "  Mercury  the  teetotaler." 

1  "  Donatus  qui  manet  in  Sebura  (m)aiore  ad  nimfa(s)."  Corpus  Inscr., 
vol.  vi.  n.  9526.     See  also  the  Schol.  Crucq.  ad  Horace,  Sat.,  i.  6,  116. 


390  UEBS    SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 

XVIII.  The  Vicis  Patricii.  —  The  Subura  bifurcated  at  the  foot 
of  the  ascent.  The  branch  on  the  left  ran  up  the  valley  between 
the  Viminal  and  the  Cespian,  taking  the  name  of  Vicus  Patricii  in 
the  lower  tract,  and  of  Ciivus  Patricius  in  the  upper,  between  our 
piazza  dell'  Esquilino  and  the  railway  station.  The  street,  already 
famous  in  the  classic  age,  continued  to  enjoy  the  same  privilege 
in  Christian  times,  on  account  of  the  house  of  Pudens,  in  which 
the  first  Roman  converts  had  met  for  prayers.  Pudentiana, 
Praxedes,  and  Timotheus,  daughters  and  son  of  Pudens,  obtained 
from  Pius  I.  the  privilege  of  transforming  their  house  into  a  regu- 
lar parish  assembly  (Titulus  Pudentis,  afterwards  Ecclesia  Puden- 
tiana).    Some  pieces  of  household  furniture  which  had  been  used 


Pig.  148.  —  Remains  of  Public  Baths  near  S.  Pudeuziana. 

by  the  "  prince  of  the  apostles  "  were  preserved  in  it.  The  "  Liber 
Pontificalis  "  says  that  the  church  occupied  part  of  the  batlis  of 
Novatus,  but  the  remains  of  ancient  walls  which  can  still  be 
seen  under  the  present  church  can  hardly  be  attributed  to  Roman 
thermae :  they  pertain  to  a  building  of  a  more  modest  nature  and 
dimensions.  (See  Parker's  "  plan  of  the  subterranean  chambers 
of  the  palace  of  the  Pudens  family  Csic),"  and  Sheet  xvii.  of  my 
Forma  Urbis.)  At  the  same  time  there  are  two  documents  prov- 
ing the  existence  of  thermaj  in  this  very  district  of  the  Vicus 
Patricii :  the  inscription  quoted  by  De  Rossi  (Bull,  crist.,  1867,  p. 

.5.5)    MAXIMVS    HAS    OLIM    THERMflS    .    .    .    DIVIXAE     MENTIS     DVCTV 

CVM  .  .  .  and  a  fragmentary  plan  by  Sallustio  Peruzzi  (Uffizi,  n. 
654),  of  which  the  above  is  a  reproduction. 

Sallustio  calls  these  remains  "  balneum  apud  S.  Pudentianam," 


THE    VIC  US   PATRICII  391 

a  bath  near  S.  Pudentiaua,  and  says  that  the  street  or  [)atli  leading 
in  the  sixteenth  century  to  tlie  baths  of  Diocletian  passed  through 
them.  This  noble  hall  or  caldarium,  with  its  semicii'cular  recesses, 
and  niches  for  statues,  and  strong  walls,  may  well  have  formed 
part  of  the  baths  of  Timotheus  or  Novatus  mentioned  in  church 
documents.  The  connection  of  this  group  of  buildings  with  the 
apostolate  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  made  it  very  popular  from  the 
beginning.  Pope  Siricius  (384-397),  his  acolytes  Leopardus, 
Maximus,  and  Ilicius,  and  Valerius  Messalla,  prefect  of  the  city 
(396-403),  contributed  to  transform  the  old  meeting-place  into  a 
handsome  church,  and  to  make  the  Vicus  Patricii  one  of  the  best 
streets  of  the  city  of  the  decadence.  An  inscription  discovered  in 
1.S.50  in  tlie  Villa  Caserta,  Via  Mervdana,  says,  "  Ilicius,  priest,  has 
built  at  his  expense  the  arcade  [represented  in  the  mosaic  of  the 
apse  of  the  chiu'ch,  and  still  existing  half  buried  under  the  houses 
to  the  left  of  the  Via  del  Bambiu  Gesu]  which  you  see  connecting 
the  Memoria  Sancti  Martyris  Hippolyti  with  the  Ecclesia  Puden- 
tiaua." The  memoria  of  S.  Ilippolytus  is  now  represented  by  the 
church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Fonte  ;  '  the  arcade  of  Ilicius  was  therefore 
4()()  metres  long,  such  being  the  distance  between  the  two  edifices 
at  each  end.  The  work  of  the  worthy  priest  was  not  remarkable 
for  its  solidity ;  because  a  few  years  later  another  devout  man,  a 
patrician,  an  ex  primicerius  notariorum  Sacri  Palatii,  was  compelled 
to  rebuild  it  from  the  foundations  :  detersis  sqvaloribvs  porticvm 
A  fvndament/s  renovavit.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  y.  1790.)  It  had 
prol)ably  been  damaged  by  the  Goths  of  Alaric  in  Angust,  410. 
Another  inscription  (ibid.,  1775)  speaks  of  other  work  of  embellish- 
ment done  by  Valerius  Messalla,  prefect  of  the  city,  ad  splendorem 

PVBLICVM  IN  VICO  PATRICIO. 

LiTKRATUEE.  —  Heiiirich  Jordan,  Forma  Urhls,  iil.  ii.  ii.  !J.  —  Gio.  Battista 
(le  Rossi,  Bull,  crist.,  1867,  p.  43,  s(j.  ;  and  Momlri  (telle  chieKC  dl  Roma,  fasc. 
xiii.  xiv.  —  Rodolfo  Laiiciani,  Pagan' and  Christian  Rome,  p.  112.  —  Gaspare 
Celio,  Memoria  dei  nomi  der/U  arlefici,  p.  81.  —  Hartmann  Grisar,  Un  affresco 
sotto  la  chiesa  di  S.  Pudenziana  (in  Civiltii  cattolica,  1896,  vol.  i.  p.  7-3.'J). — 
Bull.  arch,  com.,  1891,  p.  305,  pis.  xii.  xiii.  flg.  1;  and  p.  311,  pis.  xii.  xiii.  tig.  2. 

XIX.  The  characteristic  of  the  fourth  region  was  the  predomi- 
nance of  private  dwellings  over  public  buildings.  It  was  an  essen- 
tially popular  quarter,  the  reverse  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  regions, 
in  which  we  can  hardly  find  room  for  insula?  and  domus.  The 
excavations  which  have  taken  place  on  the  Viminal  and  Cespian 

1  The  well  which  gives  the  name  to  the  church  is  still  accessible.  The  place 
deserves  a  visit. 


392 


URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 


and  in  the  intermediate  valley  since  the  revival  of  classical  studies 
have  always  yielded  a  rich  harvest  in  objects  and  works  of  art 
pertaining  to  private  nninsions,  the  remains  of  which  appear  to 


RUINS    ON   THE    C  ESP  I  AN  393 

be  in  wonderful  preservation.  The  history  of  these  excavations 
has  not  yet  been  written,  and  many  of  the  finds  are  yet  unknown 
to  students. 

Here  is  one  instance.  In  1684  a  new  street  was  opened  along 
the  north  slope  of  the  Caspian,  halfway  between  the  Via  Urbana, 
which  runs  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  and  the  Via  Sforza- 
Paolina,  which  runs  on  the  edge  of  the  plateau.  The  street, 
called  Via  Graziosa,  from  the  name  of  Pietro  Graziosi,  a  rich  local 
landowner,  was  cut  right  across  a  group  of  old  Roman  houses, 
beautifully  preserved  and  full  of  objects  of  interest.  The  pre- 
ceding  unpublished  sketch,  made  by  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli  at  the 
time  of  the  discovery,  shows  the  state  of  the  remains  as  they 
appeared  when  the  street  was  cut.  I  have  found  the  original  on 
p.  (J5  of  Bartoli's  volume  "  donne  an  Cabinet  des  Estampes  du  Koi 
par  M.  le  Comte  de  Caylus  en  1764,"  which  now  bears  the  mark 
G,  d,  2,  n.  3871  ^  of  the  Bibliotheque  nationale.  The  drawing  is 
explained  by  the  following  notes  :  — 

(I)  Crypt  in  which  S.  Lawrence  was  imprisoned.  (II)  Spring 
with  the  waters  of  which  S.  Ilippolytus  was  baptized.  Tlie  crypt 
could  be  reached  in  two  ways,  by  a  spiral  staircase  (III)  and  by 
an  inclined  corridor  (IV)  entered  by  a  heavy  travertine  gate 
(XV).  (The  crypt,  the  well,  and  the  corridor  are  still  to  be  seen 
under  the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Fonte.)  (VII)  Hall  with 
walls  and  vaulted  ceiling  covered  with  mosaic,  shells,  and  enamel. 
(VIII)  Aqueduct.  (IX)  A  colonnade  of  the  Doric  order  with 
shafts  of  travertine  coated  with  stucco.  (X)  Room  with  walls  of 
reticulated  work.  All  these  remains  built  on  virgin  soil  (marked 
V)  were  covered  by  a  bed  of  rubbish  (marked  XI)  which  had 
rolled  down  the  slope  of  the  Cespian.  No.  XIII  marks  the  cut- 
ting of  the  Via  Graziosa,  and  No.  XII  the  new  houses  in  course 
of  construction  when  Bartoli  made  his  sketch.  He  speaks  of  the 
same  excavations  in  his  "  Memorie,"  edited  by  Carlo  Fea.  •'  When 
a  new  street  was  opened  (on  the  slope  of  the  Cespian)  opposite  S. 
Lorenzo  in  Panisperna,  remains  of  ancient  edifices  were  found, 
and  an  exquisite  fragment  of  a  Venus,  which  was  restored  by 
Ercole  Ferrata  for  Queen  Christine  of  Sweden.  Duke  Livio 
Odescalchi  bought  it  with  the  rest  of  the  queen's  marbles,  which 
were  ultimately  removed  to  the  museum  of  S.  Ildefonso,  Spain. 
There  was  also  a  Baccliic  flute  of  Corinthian  brass,  three  palms  long, 
and  several  other  objects,  which,  for  reasons  known  to  me,  I  must 

1  I  have  described  the  contents  of  this  volume,  one  of  the  most  precious  in 
the  Cabinet  des  Estampes,  Paris,  in  the  Bull,  com.,  1895,  p.  166. 


394  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM  XIV 

abstain  from  mentioning  (Mem.  17).  ...  A  mosaic  pavement  has 
been  laid  bare  in  the  foundations  of  the  house  of  Signor  Focavena, 
with  birds  and  arabesques  in  bright  colors  "  (Mem.  26).  On  Jan- 
uary 8, 1613,  the  lararium  or  chapel  of  the  house  of  L.  Crepereius 
Rogatus  was  discovered  at  the  foot  of  the  Salita  di  S.  Maria  Mag- 
giore ;  ^  but  the  most  important  find  by  far  is  that  of  November, 
1848,  when  the  set  of  frescoes  with  landscapes  and  scenes  from 
the  Odyssey  were  discovered  in  repairing  the  foundations  of  the 
Monastery  delle  Turchine  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Sforza.  Re- 
productions of  the  frescoes,  which  are  now  pi-eserved  in  the  room 
of  the  Nozze  Aldobrandine  in  the  Vatican  library,  have  been 
given  by  — 

Noel  des  Vergers,  Bull.  Inst.,  1849,  p.  17.  —  Heinrich  Brunn,  Ibid.,  p.  129. 

—  Matranga,  La  citta  di  Lamo  stabilita  in  Terracina.  Rome,  1852.  —  Woer- 
mann,  Die  antiken  Odysseelandschaften  vom  esquilinschcn  Hiigd.   Munich,  1876. 

—  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  ii.  p.  175. 

The  Via  Graziosa  exists  no  more.  The  great  Via  Cavour  runs 
in  its  place  at  a  higher  level.  The  building  of  the  Via  Cavour, 
therefore,  gave  no  opportunity  of  fresh  discoveries ;  and  in  fact,  if 
anything  lies  still  at  the  level  of  the  ancient  city  it  may  be  truly 
said  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  man. 

THE  GREAT  PARKS   ON   THE  EASTERN   SIDE  OF  THE  CITY. 

Regions  V,  VI,  and  VII. 

XX.  No  modern  capital  of  Europe  can  be  compared  with 
ancient  Rome  for  the  number  and  extent  of  public  parks  and 
gardens.  While  the  nine  larger  parks  of  London,  with  their 
aggregate  surface  of  2,000  acres,  represent  a  thirty-ninth  part  of 
the  city  area,  those  of  ancient  Rome,  extending  over  the  chain  of 
hills  for  two  miles  at  least,  on  either  side  of  the  Tiber,  represent 
an  eighth  part.  If  such  open  spaces  act  as  lungs  to  a  city,  no  city 
ever  breathed  more  freely  than  Rome.  The  accompanying  sketch- 
map  (Fig.  150)  may  help  the  student  to  locate  the  various  horli 
mention  of  which  occur  in  classics  or  in  inscriptions.  The  city 
was  not  only  surrounded  and  inclosed  by  them,  but  intersected 
in  every  direction.  Those  on  the  eastern  chain  of  hills  followed 
each  other  (from  south  to  north,  as  ancient  maps  are  oriented)  in 
this  order :  — 

1  Bull.  arch,  com.,  1891,  pp.  305,  341. 


GARDENS    OF  VNKNOWN 
SITE. 

mciANi. 

tPAPHRODITIAMI. 
-      SCATONIANI 
SERVIUANl , 
LIBITINAE. 

P.'S. 


PRA.ENESTINA 


ANCIENT    ROME 


THE    VARIAN   GARDENS  395 

Regio  V.  Esquiline.  Horti  Vcariani. 

,,  ,,  )i  Liciniani. 

J,  ,,  ,,  Torquatiani,  Pallautiani,  Epaphrodotiaui. 

,^  ,,  ,,  Tauriani,  Calyclauii,  Vettiaiii. 

J,  ,,  ,,  Laiuiani,  Maiaui. 

J,  ,,  „  M;\;ceuatiani. 

,,  ,)  ))  Lolliani. 

Regio  VI.  Alta  Semita.     ,,  Sallustiani. 

Regio  VII.  Via  Lata.  ,,  Luculliani. 

,,  ))  II  Aciliani. 

These  gardens  did  not  make  one  continuous  stretch  of  verdure : 
they  were  intersected  by  streets  like  the  SaUiria  Vetus,  the  Alta 
Semita,  the  Vicus  Portpe  Collinaj,  the  Vicus  Porta?  Viminalis,  the 
vise  Tiburtina,  PrsBnestina,  Labicana,  etc.,  by  groups  of  houses 
and  palaces,  and  by  a  few  public  buildings  of  large  area. 

I  shall  describe  first  the  parks,  then  a  few  of  tliese  prominent 
buildings  set  as  they  were  in  a  frame  of  green. ^ 

XXI.  HouTi  Variaxi.  —  The  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the 
city,  between  the  line  of  the  Claudian  aqueduct  and  the  Aniphi- 
theatrum  Castrense,  seems  to  have  been  the  property  of  the  Varian 
family  from  an  early  period,  and  to  have  been  transformed  into 
a  park  by  Sextus  Varius  Marcelliis,  father  of  the  Emperor  Helio- 
gabalus  (Sextus  Varius  Avitus  Bassianus).  Heliogabalus  enlarged 
and  improved  the  gardens,  which  became  part  of  the  Imperial 
domain.  Here  he  retired  to  conspire  against  the  life  of  his  cousin, 
Severus  Alexander,  and  here  he  was  found,  starting  a  chariot 
race,  by  the  praetorians  eager  to  take  a  revenge  for  the  attemjited 
assassination  of  tlie  cherished  young  prince. 

The  gardens,  officially  named  liorti  Spei  veterix,  from  the  old 
Temple  of  Hope  whicli  stood  close  by  the  Porta  Maggiore,  were 
cut  in  two  by  Aurelian's  walls.  AVe  do  not  know  whether  the 
part  extra  muros  was  abandoned;  probably  it  was  not,  and  the 
communication  across  the  line  of  tlie  walls  may  have  been  kept 
open  by  means  of  posterns.  The  section  intra  muros  continued  to 
be  an  Imperial  garden  and  residence,  and  attained  great  notoriety 
at  the  time  of  Helena  and  Constantine.  Three  of  the  Varian 
edifices  deserve  notice :  the  Circus,  the  Palace,  and  the  Thermae. 

The  approximate  situation  of  the  Circus  in  respect  to  the  neigh- 

1  On  Roman  gardens  in  general  consult  Wiistermann,  Ueber  die  Kunst- 
gdrtnerel  bei  die  alten  Riimern.  Gotha,  1846.  —  Woermann,  Ueber  landsckaft- 
lichen  Natursinn  der  Griechen  u.  Romer.  Municli,  1871. —  Ancient  Rome, 
p.  271. 


396 


UJiBS   SACRA    REG  ION  UM   XIV 


boring  monuments  is  shown  in  this  fragment  of  a  perspective 
plan  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  also  in  Bufalini's  map  of  1551. 
When  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  younger  examined  the  ruins  in 
the  second  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  obelisk  was  still 
lying  broken  in  three  pieces  (along  the  spina  ?)  in  the  vineyard 
of  a  Messer  Jeronimo  Milanese,  which  was  then  being  excavated 
by  a  stone-cutter  named  Rugieri.  Sangallo  also  saw  and  designed 
(UfRzi,  n.  900)  a  graceful  nympha^um  not  unlike  that  still  exist- 


Fig.  151.  — Ligorio's  Perspective  View  of  the  Horti  Variani. 
(From  sheet  iv.  of  the  Andqiiiv  Urbis  Imago.     Rome,  1551.) 

ing  in  the  gardens  of  Sallust.  The  remains  of  the  Circus  were 
very  conspicuous  in  those  days,  and  bore  the  name  of  "  Ciercho, 
Cerchio,  Circo  Vetere,"  and  also  of  "  lo  Girolo."  The  obelisk  was 
dug  out  in  1570,  and  the  brothers  Curzio  and  IMarcello  Saccoccia, 
who  owned  the  ground,  put  up  a  tablet  commemorating  its  dis- 
covery, which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  one  of  the  arches  of  the  Acqua 
Felice.  The  obelisk  was  removed  in  the  following  century  to 
the  Barberini  garden,  Via  delle  quattro  Fontane,  where  Bernini 
wanted  to  raise  it  in  front  of  the  palace.  President  de  Brosses 
and  five  other  gentlemen  from  Burgundy  asked  leave  from  Pope 


THE    VARIAN   GARDENS  397 

Clement  XII.  to  erect  it  at  their  expense  in  front  of  S.  Luigi  de' 
Francesi.  The  project  hickily  failed,  bat  the  odyssey  of  the  pillar 
did  not  end  then.  Princess  Cornelia  Barberini  presented  it  to 
Clement  XIV.,  who  caused  it  to  be  removed  to  the  Giardino  della 
Pigna  in  the  Vatican.  Pius  VI.  planned  to  place  it,  first,  on  the 
pedestal  of  the  column  of  Antoninus  Pius  in  the  same  gardens, 
and  again  on  the  top  of  the  tower  of  the  Porta  Pia.  Valadier  and 
Pius  VII.  erected  it  at  last  in  the  central  avenue  of  the  passeggiata 
del  Pincio.  It  is  a  work  of  Hadrian's  time,  cut  in  memory  of  his 
favorite  Antinous. 

Literature. — Andrea  Fulvio,  Antiqq.,  iv. — Andrea  Palladio,  Antichita, 
ed.  1554,  p.  9.  —  Pirro  Ligorio,  Circhi,  p.  9.  —  Gio.  Battista  Cipriani,  Ohelischl^ 
p.  21.  —  Fea  Biancoui,  Circhi,  ch.  ii.  p.  ix. — Winckelmaun,  Storia  delle  arti, 
vol.  i.  p.  96,  n.  C.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  anticn,  vol.  i.  p.  607.  —  Christian 
Huelsen,  Mittheil.,  1896,  p.  122. 

The  Palace,  inside  the  walls,  is  known  in  documents  of  a  later 
age  as  the  Palatium  Sessorianum.  The  origin  of  the  name  is 
obscure,^  but  the  fact  that  it  was  an  Imperial  residence  of  the 
third  and  part  of  the  fourth  century  is  vmdoubted.  Helena, 
mother  of  Constantine,  preferred  it  to  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars, 
and  the  place  is  full  of  associations  of  her.  Here  were  found  the 
pedestals  of  statues  raised  to  her  by  Julius  Maximianus,  a  digni- 
tary of  the  Constantinian  court ;  and  by  Flavius  Pistus,  keeper  of 
the  \>ri\y  purse  (Corpus,  n.  1134:,  1185)  ;  and  here  also,  in  the  vine- 
yard of  Girolamo  INIuziano  the  painter  (f  1550),  was  found  a  bust 
considered  to  represent  her  likeness.  I  confine  myself  strictly  to 
archaeological  evidence  :  but  Church  documents  give  fuller  details 
about  lier  woi'ks,  and  about  the  transformation  of  the  great  hall 
of  the  palace  into  a  Christian  place  of  worship  under  the  title 
of  Hierusalem.  This  hall  resembled  very  closely  in  shape  and 
dimensions  the  Templum  Sacra-  Urbis  turned  into  a  church  by 
Felix  IV.,  having  the  same  line  and  number  of  arched  windows 
under  the  roof,  and  the  same  wall  decorations  in  "florentine" 
mosaic,  composed  of  crusts  of  porphyry,  serpentine,  and  other 
"pietre  dure."^  Constantine  left  the  hall  as  it  was;  he  only 
closed  the  lower  arches  opening  on  the  garden,  and  added  an  apse 
at  the  east  end.  The  columns  by  which  the  hall  was  divided  into 
nave  and  aisles  are  an  addition  of  Gregory  II.  (715-731).  The 
church  remained  in  its  old  form  until  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century.     I  have  found  in  the  state  archives  a  plan  of  the  church 

1  Adolf  Becker,  De  miiris,  p.  120;  and  Topofjrapkie,  p.  556. 

■•!  Sano-allo  tlie  yonnger,   Uffizi,  n.  899. 


398  URBS   SACRA   REG  TON  UM  XIV 

and  cloisters  taken  on  May  15,  1716,  by  the  architect  Melchior 
Passalacqua,  full  of  interesting  details.  Benedict  XIV.  in  1744, 
with  the  assistance  of  Passalacqvia  and  Gregorini,  reduced  the 
glorious  monument  to  its  present  grotesque  form,  a  work  which 
Milizia  justly  condemns  as  "nefando."  This  was  done  at  the 
expense  of  another  hall  of  the  palace,  known  in  ordinary  guide- 
books by  the  name  of  Tempio  di  Venere  e  Cupido.  This  beauti- 
ful hall,  of  which  only  the  apse,  standing  in  the  garden  north  of 
the  church,  is  left,  was  almost  intact  in  the  sixteenth  century,  with 
its  columns  of  red  granite,  its  portico  and  vestibule,  etc.  Benedict 
XIV.  and  his  acolytes  destroyed  it  for  the  sake  of  a  few  cartloads 
of  bricks. 

No  student  should  omit  to  visit  the  Vigna  di  S.  Croce  in 
Gerusalemme.^  The  remains  of  the  Claudian  aqueduct  which 
inclosed  the  Imperial  gardens  on  the  north,  of  the  walls  of  Aiire- 
lian  which  run  across  them  on  the  south  side,  of  the  "  hall  named 
Hieriisalem,"  and  of  the  so-called  Temple  of  Venus  and  Cupid, 
nuxke  it  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  of  Rome. 

The  statue  of  Sallustia  Barbia  Orbiana,  wife  of  Severus  Alex- 
ander, who  was  himself  cousin  of  Heliogabalus  (now  in  the  Cor- 
tile  di  Belvedere,  Vatican  Museum,  No.  42),  is  said  to  have  been 
found  in  these  gardens  as  early  as  the  time  of  Julius  II.  Ligorio 
mentions  another  statuette  of  Venus  cut  in  rock  crystal  (?)  ;  and 
Ficoroni  describes  the  works  of  art  foun.d  in  1741,  when  Benedict 
XrV.  cut  away  a  knoll  called  INlonte  Cipollaro,  which  rose  in  front 
of  the  church.  They  include  the  Boy  struggling  with  a  (ioose, 
prol)ably  after  Boethos,  now  in  the  Capitoline  Museum,  room  of 
the  Faun,  No.  16 ;  a  head  of  Caracalla ;  a  second  resembling  the 
Carneades  of  the  same  museum  ;  a  third  unknown  ;  and  a  column 
of  bianco  e  nero.  Marchese  Campana  tried  the  ground  again  in 
18.55,  but  he  found  only  a  wine-cellar  with  rows  of  amphora?  of 
white  clay. 

The  Therma?  Helenianae  and  the  reservoir  which  supplied  them 
with  water  can  be  seen  in  what  is  now  called  the  Vigna  Conti 
(entered  by  the  last  gate  on  the  left  of  the  Via  di  S.  Croce).  I  was 
able  to  give  a  careful  plan  of  tliese  therm;i?  in  sheets  xxxi.,  xxxii. 
of  the  "  Forma  Urbis,"  from  unpublished  drawings  by  Palladio 
(Devonshire  Collect.)  and  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  younger  (Ufhzi, 
1439).  The  inscription,  now  in  the  Vatican  Museum,  sala  della 
Croce  greca  (Corpus,  vol.  vi.  n.  1136),  says  that  "Helena  the 
venerable,  mother  of  Constantine,  etc.,  etc.,  rebuilt  the  baths 
1  Kin»  at  the  first  gate  on  the  left  of  the  church. 


400  URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

after  a  fire "  —  (thermas  incendio  destrvctas  restitvit).  This 
inscription  was  probably  discovered  in  tlie  excavations  of  Lelio 
Orsini,  Duke  of  Bracciano,  described  by  Bartoli  (Mem.  12),  in  the 
course  of  wliich  five  "  bellissime  "  statues  v^^ere  found  in  an  under- 
ground room,  with  fragments  and  marbles  of  every  description. 
It  seems  that  after  the  fall  of  the  Empire  one  or  more  rooms  of 
these  baths  were  adapted  to  Christian  worship.  Flaminio  Vacca 
saw  images  of  saints  painted  on  their  walls,  and  Cherubino  Alberti 
adds  that  S.  Helena  was  said  to  have  been  buried  in  one  of  them ; 
he  also  gives  a  sketch  of  the  place.  I  have  myself  seen  traces 
of  painting  in  some  extensive  apartments  which  run  deep  under- 
ground in  front  of  the  present  church. 

Literature.  —  Albert!  Giovanni,  Cod.  san  Sepolcro,  f.  7. — Alberti  Cheru- 
bino, ibid.,  vol.  i.  f.  37'.  —  Pirro  Ligorio,  Cod.  vatic,  3439,  f.  32.  —  Liber  pon- 
lific,  Duchesne,  i.  p.  cxxvi.  note  C,  and  p.  196.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  781, 
782,  2251,  2252.  —  Flaminio  Vacca,  ifem.  114  (in  Fea's  Miscell.,  vol.  i.  p.  ci.). 
—  Francesco  Ficoroni,  3fem.  71;  ibid.,  p.  clii. — Ridolfino  Venuti,i?o?»a  antica, 
vol.  i.  p.  130.  —  Carlo  Fea,  ad  Winckelmann,  Storia  delV  arte,  vol.  iii.  p.  44.  — 
Henry  Stevenson,  Annnl.  Inst.,  1877,  p.  371.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Itin.  di  Ein- 
siedlen,  p.  58.  — Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  84,  n.  142  ;  and  p.  382,  n. 
518, 

XXII.  HoRTi  LiciNiANi,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Viale 
Principessa  Margherita,  between  the  church  of  S.  Vibiana  and 
the  Porta  JNIaggiore. 

The  Licinian  family  must  have  possessed  property  on  the  Esqui- 
line  from  the  time  of  the  Republic.  Cicero  mentions  certain  atria 
Licinia  outside  the  Esquiline  gate,  belonging  to  INI.  Licinins  Cras- 
sus.  A  columbarium  of  f  reedmen  of  the  same  name  was  discovered 
at  the  time  of  Pope  Barberini  near  the  Church  of  S.  Vibiana.^ 
The  "  Vita  Gallieni "  (c.  17)  calls  the  gardens  "  horti  nominis 
sui,"  that  is  to  say,  "  Horti  Liciniani,"  that  Emperor  being  a 
Licinius  himself.  The  "  Vita  "  says  that  Gallienus  was  very  fond 
of  residing  in  such  a  delightful  place,  that  he  was  followed  there 
by  the  whole  Court,  and  that  every  officer  of  state  was  admitted  to 
the  Imperial  table  and  baths.  "When  one  of  these  officers,  named 
Aurelius  Victor,  determined  to  erect  a  standing  testimonial  of  his 
devotion  to  Gallienus  and  to  his  Empress  Salonina,  he  chose  for 
its  site  the  high  street  leading  to  the  gardens,  and  changed  the 
old  Esquiline  gate  of  Servius  into  a  travertine  arch  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  his  masters  (see  Corpus,  n.  1106).    Ecclesiastical 

1  Raffaele  Fabretti,  Inscr.  domest.,  pp.  13,  373.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma 
antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  330.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  n.  9154. 


THE   LICINIAN   GARDENS  401 

documents  place  the  church  of  S.  Yibiaua  near  the  "  Palatium 
Licinianum,"  \\z.,  near  the  decagonal  nymph?euni  of  the  gardens, 
the  so-called  Minerva  Medica  of  the  loresent  day.  The  nymphajum, 
the  first  ruins  to  strike  the  eye  of  the  stranger  on  his  entering  the 
walls  of  the  Eternal  City,i  and  the  most  conspicuous  landmark  of 
this  district,  were  called  Galluce,  Galluccie,  Caluce  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  have  been  known  as  the  Basilica  Caii  et  Lucii  since 
1527.  The  name  of  Minerva  Medica  given  to  the  ruins  towards 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  ceutui-y  by  Nardini  and  others  is 
doubly  wrong,  because  it  belongs  to  a  street  and  to  a  street-shrine 
half  a  mile  distant  (discovered  in  1887  in  the  Via  Curva,  west  of 
the  Merulana),  and  because  it  is  not  true  that  the  statue  of  the 
goddess  (No.  114  Braccio  Xuovo),  with  a  serpent  at  her  feet,  was 
found  among  these  ruins.  The  seicento  archpeologists  supposed 
the  harmless  creature  —  the  protector  of  olive  gardens  so  dear  to 
Minerva  —  to  be  the  serpent  of  ^•Esculapius,  and  therefore  to  allude 
to  Minerva's  medical  science.  At  all  events  the  beautiful  statue 
was  discovered  not  on  the  Esquiline  but  near  the  church  of  S. 
Maria  sopra  Minerva,  among  the  ruins  of  the  temple  raised  to  her 
by  Pompey  the  Great. 

Literature.  —  P.  Sante  Bartoli,  Mem.  112  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p. 
ccliv.).  —  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  Museums,  p.  15.3,  n.  14.  —  GaUeria  Giusti- 
niana,  vol.  i.  p.  .3.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  31,  n.  51. 

The  nymphaeum  was  once  covered  with  mosaics  and  slabs  of 
porphjTy,  and  its  dome  incrusted  with  shells  and  enamel.  The 
'•  vignettes  "  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  show  it  in 
a  much  better  state  of  preservation.  It  has  nine  semicircular  re- 
cesses and  one  door  on  the  ground  floor,  and  ten  windows  above. 
Tlae  greater  part  of  the  dome  fell  in  1828,  and  the  rest  was  much 
shattered  by  a  thunderbolt  in  the  following  year.  It  was  first  ex- 
cavated, as  far  as  we  know,  by  ]Messer  Cosmo  Jacomelli  "  medico," 
at  the  time  of  Julius  III.  (1550-1555).  The  produce  of  the  exca- 
vations is  described  by  Ligorio,  and  his  statements  are  substantially 
corroborated  by  Flaminio  A'acca.  Numbers  of  statues  were  dis- 
covered lying  in  pieces  before  their  respective  niches ;  they  were 
thought  to  represent  Pomona  (in  black  marble  with  heads  and 
hands  of  bronze),  ^sculapius,  Adonis,  Venus,  Hercules,  Antinous, 
and  several  Fauns.  Ligorio  adds  to  the  list  a  "  ^linerva  with  her 
dragon,"  and  says  that  the  Minerva,  the  Venus,  the  yEsculapius 

1  The  nymphannn  stands  close  to  the  Tre  nrcki,  by  which  all  the  railway 
lines  enter  the  city. 


402  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

were  given  to  Pope  Julius  III,  who  was  then  collecting  marbles  for 
his  Villa  Giulia  outside  the  Porta  del  Popolo  ;  and  as  the  Pope 
was  in  need  of  a  naked  statue  to  pair  with  another  already  in  his 
possession,  he  caused  the  God  of  Medicine  to  be  deprived  of  his 
mantle  and  condemned  to  a  state  of  nudity.  Cosmo  Jacomelli 
also  found  four  columns  of  verde  antico   and  ten   fluted   spiral 


Fig.  153. — Statue  of  a  Komaii  M;i!,'i-ti,it.'  d  ihc   I'uuitli  i.'eutuii  giving  the  Signal  for 
a  Cliariot  Kace. 


THE   LICINIAN    GARDENS 


403 


columns  of  giallo.  One  of  the  Fauns,  restored  by  Flaminio  Vacca, 
was  purchased  by  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese.  In  another  por- 
tion of  the  gardens,  owned  by  Francesco  d'  Aspra,  treasiu'sr  to 
Julius  III.,  many  other  statues  were  found,  as  well  as  bronze  busts 
of  Emperors  ;  medals,  marbles,  etc.,  removed  likewise  to  the  Villa 
Giulia.  It  is  no  w'onder  that,  after  so  many  finds,  our  ow'u  exca- 
vations in  1875-78  shoiUd  have  led  to  no  results.  The  only  objects 
recovered  were  the  bust  of  Manlia  Scantilla,  wife  of  the  Emperor 
Didius  Julianus,  now  in  the  Palazzo  dei  Consei'vatori,  Rotunda 
Xo.  44,  some  fanciful  capitals  and  columns  w-ith  Bacchic  reliefs, 
and  two  statues  of  Roman  magistrates  of  the  fourth  century  (the 
two  Symmachi  ?)  in  the  act  of  giving  the  signal  to  start  the  races 
in  the  circus  by  throwing  into  the  arena  a  piece  of  cloth  (mappa). 
One  of  these  is  here  represented  (Fig.  153).  There  was  also 
a  bas-relief  representing  the  "  Foi'ge  of  Vulcan."  (See  Bull, 
com.,  1874,  p.  131;  1878,  pp.  142,  199  ;  1879,  p.  240;  1883,  p.  17). 


RESENT    1-EVE1_    Of  GROVMD 


Fig.  1  j4.  —  Columbaria  discovered  in  li<l'I  ou  the  Site  of  the  Horti  Liciniaui. 

The  gardens  of  the  Licinian  family,  like  those  of  Maecenas, 
were  laid  out  on  ground  occupied  by  a  number  of  tombs  and 
columbaria  of  the  last  century  of  the  Republic  and  of  the  Augus- 


404  URBS   SACRA   REGWNUM   XIV 

tan  age.  The  cemetery  was  buried  under  a  mass  of  earth  from  four 
to  eight  metres  high,  and  as  religious  respect  for  tombs  was  still 
deeply  rooted  among  workmen,  when  the  change  took  place,  the 
tombs  have  been  found  intact  and  full  of  funeral  "supellex." 
Between  February  7  and  May  27,  1871,  in  a  space  only  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  square,  five  columbaria  were  discovered,  containing  204 
inscriptions,  200  lamps,  2  marble  and  40  terra-cotta  cinerary  urns, 
195  coins,  150  glass  perfume-bottles,  200  balsamaria  of  terra  cotta, 
and  a  few  gold  rings  and  earrings.  A  complete  description  of 
this  necropolis  is  to  be  found  in  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  of  the  "  Corpus 
Inscr.,"  p.  976,  under  the  title  Monumenta  effossa  in  vinea  Belardi- 
orum  prope  pnrtam  Prcenestinam.  The  above  illustration  (Fig.  154) 
shows  some  of  the  columbaria  ^  excavated  in  1872  and  the  depth 
at  which  they  lay  buried  under  the  level  of  the  Licinian  gardens. 

LiTEiiATUKE.  —  Baldassarre  Peruzzi,  Uffizi,  n.  498. — Salhistio  Peruzzi, 
ibid.,  n.  689.  —Martin  Heemskerk,  Berlin,  f.  49'.  —  Jean  Jacques  Lequeu,  iu 
Cabinet  des  Estampes,  Paris,  Rome,  vol.  Monti,  n.  G.  — Louis  Duchesne,  Liber 
pontif.,  i.  p.  250,  n.  1.  —  Antonio  Nibbj',  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  328. — 
Edoardo  Brizio,  Pitture  e  sejiolcri  scoperti  suW  Esquilino  neW  anno  1875. 
Rome,  1876.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1880,  p.  51,  pi.  ii. 

XXIII.  HoRTi  Tauriani.  —  The  most  important  group  of 
tombs  described  in  the  section  of  the  "  Corpus  "  just  quoted  are  the 
columbaria  of  the  servants  and  freedmen  of  the  Statilian  family, 
discovered  partly  in  1875,  partly  in  1880,  in  that  part  of  the 
Licinian  gardens  now  crossed  by  the  Viale  Principe  Eugenio.  They 
contained  427  inscriptions  relating  to  370  servants  attached  to 
the  person  of  Statilius  Taurus,  consul  in  a.  d.  11,  and  to  his  chil- 
dren. (See  Ancient  Rome,  p.  132.)  The  presence  of  these  family 
vaults  in  this  special  corner  of  the  Esquiline  indicates  that  the 
Statilii  must  have  owned  property  of  some  kind  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  acts  of  SS.  Faustus  and  Pigmenius  discovered  by  the 
BoUandist  fathers,  in  "Cod.  lat."  5289  of  the  Bibliotheque  natio- 
iiale,  Paris,  mention  a,  forum  (Statilii)  Tauri  between  the  church  of 
S.  V^biana  and  the  Porta  S.  Lorenzo.  This  gate  was  called  Porta 
Taurlna  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  whole  district  Regio  Tauri  or 
Regio  Caput  Tauri.  Lastly,  there  were  two  churches  called  S. 
Silvester  de  Tauro  and  S.  Laurentius  ad  Taurellum.  The  origin 
of  these  names  was  explained  by  the  discovery  (made  in  1874,  in 
the  Via  Principe  Amadeo  behind  the  apse  of  S.  Eusebio)  of  two 
terminal   stones   with   the  legend  cippi  •  hi  •  finivnt  •  hortos  • 

1  Marked  J,  K,  L,  M  in  the  iilan  of  the  Corpus,  pp.  982  and  990. 


THE    GARDENS    OF   TAURUS  405 

CALYCLAN(os)  '  ET  •  TAVKiAA'os.  "  The8e  cippi  mark  the  boundary 
line  bet^veen  the  gardens  called  Calyclanii  and  those  of  (Statilius) 
Taurus."  A  water-pipe  discovered  not  far  from  the  cippi,  in- 
scribed with  tlie  name  of  Vettius  Agorius  Pr?etextatus  and  of  his 
wife  Fabia  Aconia  PauUina,  proves  that  the  classical  gardens  of 
the  Statilii  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Vettii  in  the  fourth 
century  after  Christ,  and  were  embodied  in  the  old  Horti  Scatoniani, 


Fig.  155.  —  Statue  of  Shepherdess  discovered  iii  the  Horti  Vettiaui. 


406  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM  XIV 

so-called  from  the  Vettii  Scatones.  Both  families  had  em'iched 
the  grounds  with  works  of  art  to  such  an  extent  that  several 
thousand  marble  fragments  were  extracted,  in  March,  1874,  from 
two  walls  alone,  into  which  they  had  been  built  after  the  first 
barbaric  inroads.  A  siimmary  catalogue  of  these  sculptures,  now 
exhibited  in  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
"  Bull,  com.,"  1873,  p.  293,  n.  58 ;  1874,  p.  ,50  ;  and  1875,  p.  151.  One 
of  them,  an  old  shepherdess  with  her  pet  lamb  under  the  left  arm, 
is  here  reproduced  (Fig.  155).  It  was  found  in  the  Piazza  Man- 
fredo  Fanti. 

Literature.  —  Louis  Duchesne,  Lib.pont.,  voL  i.,  pp.  123,  127,  258,  note  2. 
—  Gio.  Battista  de  Kossi,  11  forum  Tauri  nella  regione  Esquilina,  in  Bull,  com., 
1890,  p.  280.  —  Cataluyus  codicum  hagior/raphicorum,  in  Biblioth.  nationale, 
Paris,  Bruxelles,  1889,  vol.  i.  pp.  520-523.  —  Pianta  deW  aula  iemporanea 
del  Palazzo  del  Conservatori.  Rome,  Salviucci,  1876,  n.  17,  30,  31,  40,  A.  (j8, 
72,  76,  107. —  Christian  Hnelsen,  Nuove  osservnzioni,  etc.,  in  Bull,  com.,  1893, 
p.  119;  1894,  p.  101,  etc.  —  Ancient  Rome,  p.  169. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  yol.  vi.  n. 
6241,  6281,  6282. 

XXIV.    HoRTi     Lamiani  et    Maiani.  —  Valerius    Maximus, 

praising  the  modesty  and  frugality  of  the  ^Elian  family,  .says  that 
a  humble  house  near  the  "trophies  of  Marius"  was  sufficient  to 
accommodate  sixteen  iElii.  The  trophies  of  Marius  stood  near  the 
present  church  of  S.  Eusebio  on  the  Esquiline.  The  iElii  Lamia, 
the  more  illustrious  branch  of  the  family,  which  claimed  descent 
from  Lamus,  king  of  the  Lestrigonians,  enlarged  the  property  on 
the  line  of  the  Via  Merulana,  and  laid  out  gardens,  worthy  rivals 
of  those  of  Maecenas  on  the  other  side  of  the  same  street.  It  is 
sujjposed  that  Lucius  ^lius  Lamia,  consul  in  a.  d.  3,  must  have 
bequeathed  the  park  to  Tiberius,  as  Maecenas  had  done  for 
Augustus,  because  we  find  it  described  as  a  part  of  the  Imperial 
domain  on  the  Esquiline,  immediately  after  the  death  of  Lamia, 
which  took  place  in  a.  d.  33.  Philon,  who  led  the  Jewish  embassy 
to  Caligula,  and  who  was  received  in  the  Horti  Lamiani,  says  they 
were  next  to  those  of  Maecenas  and  to  the  Servian  walls ;  that 
they  contained  magnificent  apartments,  two  stories  high,  with 
windows  having  panes  of  transparent  marble  instead  of  glass, 
besides  avenues,  woods,  fountains,  works  of  art,  etc.  The  mixr- 
dered  body  of  Caligula  was  removed  here  from  the  Palatine,  on 
January  24,  a.  d.  41,  cremated  and  buried  in  haste,  but  some  time 
later  his  sisters  carried  the  ashes  to  the  mausoleum  of  Augustus. 
However,  as  long  as  the  ashes  were  kept  in  the  gardens,  the  keepers 
were  constantly  harassed  by  the  phantom  of  the  murdered  prince. 


THE   LAMIAN   GARDENS  407 

The  halls  of  tlie  palace  were  so  large  that  a  portrait  of  Nero  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  high  (35.64  metres)  could  be  painted  in 
one  of  them.  The  huge  canvas,  twice  as  large  as  the  mainsail  of 
a  frigate,  was  set  on  fire  by  lightning,  together  with  the  palace  : 
"  pictura,  accensa  f  ulmine,  cum  optima  hortorum  parte  conflagra- 
vit."  ^  The  damages  must  .have  been  repaired  at  once.  The  staff 
of  keepers  is  mentioned  in  several  inscriptions  (Corpus,  n.  61.52, 
8668,  866.9).  At  the  time  of  Severus  Alexander  the  park  received 
improvements,  especially  in  the  waterworks. 

A  volume  could  be  written  on  the  exquisite  works  of  art,  paint- 
ings as  well  as  sculptures,  discovered  in  the  Horti  Lamiani  since 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  list  comprises,  be- 
sides objects  of  secondary  interest,  the  Meleager  of  the  Belvedere ; 
the  pediment  of  a  temple  (?),  with  the  slaughter  of  the  Niobides, 
and  the  two  Athletes,  now  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence,  found  in  the 
spring  of  1582 ;  the  "  Xozze  aldobrandine,"  found  at  the  time  of 
Clement  VIII.  (1592-1605),  now  in  the  Vatican  library ;  the  Dis- 
cobolos  of  Myron,  found  INIarch  1-1,  1781,  now  in  the  Lancellotti 
palace;  the  Hercules,  removed  to  England  by  Colonel  CamjibeU  ; 
the  relief  of  Dancing  Women,  now  in  the  Museo  Chiaramonti,  sec- 
tion xxvii.  n.  CA\ ;  and  many  other  marbles  lately  in  possession  of 
the  Massimi  family. 

Literature.  —  Fabroni,  Dissert,  sulle  statue  appartenentt  alia  favola  di 
Niobe.  Florence,  1779.  —  Francesco  Cancellieri,  Dissertazioni  epistolari  sopra 
la  staiua  del  Discobolo.  Rome,  1806.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Jioma  antica,  vol.  ii. 
p.  324.  — Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  6fi,  n.  116,  pp.  78,  1.3.3;  and  vol. 
ii.  p.  184,  n.  958.  —  Zuccato,  AZea  dei  Pittori,  book  ii.  p.  37.  —  Moreau  de 
Mautours,  Mem.  Acad,  des  Inscriptions,  Hist.,  vol.  v.  p.  297. — Visconti, 
Catal.  Villa  Miollis,  p.  127. 

The  discoveries  made  in  our  own  time  may  well  challenge  com- 
parison with  those  described  above.  On  Christmas  eve,  ISTi,  in 
one  room  only  (at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Foscolo  and  the  Via 
Emmanuele  Filiberto),  we  found  lying  on  the  marble  floor  the  bust 
of  Commodus  under  the  attributes  of  Hercules,  reproduced  in  the 
following  cut  (Fig.  156)  ;  it  was  flanked  by  two  Tritons  or  marine 
Centaurs  and  by  two  statues  representing  either  two  maiden  daugh- 
ters of  Danaos  (according  to  Helbig),  or  two  Muses,  Terpsichore  and 
Polyhymnia  (according  to  Visconti).  There  were  also  the  "  Venus 
Lamiana  "  (called  by  Helbig  "  A  Girl  binding  a  fillet  round  her 
head  "),  a  portrait  head  of  young  Commodus,  a  head  of  Diana,  a 
Bacchus  of  semi-colossal  size,  with  drapery  of  gilt  bronze  (missing), 
1  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  xxxv.  7,  33. 


408 


URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


and  about  twenty-five  exquisite  fragments,  legs,  arms,  hands,  feet, 
etc.,  belonging  to  statues  whose  drapery  was  likewise  of  bronze. 
These  works  of  art  are  exhibited  in  the  octagonal  room  of  the 


Fig.  156.  —  Bust  of  CommoduB  from  the  Horti  Lamiani. 

Palazzo  dei  Conservatori,  and  the  fragments  in  Hall  II.  of  the 
Museo  Municipale  al  Celio.  The  graceful  girlish  statuette  re- 
produced in  the  following  cut  (Fig.  157)  discovered  near  the  Vicolo 
di  S.  Matteo,  is  evidently  modeled  in  imitation  of  the  terra-cotta 
figurines  which  have  made  the  names  of  Tanagra  and  Myrina 
famous  over  the  world. 


THE    GARDENS   OF  MAECENAS  409 

Literature.  —  Carlo  Ludovico  Yiscorxti, Bull,  com.,  vol.  ill.  (1875),  pp.  3, 
16,  57,  140,  pb.  i.-v.,  ix.,  x.,  xiv.,  xv.;  vol.  xviii.  (1890)  p.  68,  pis.  iii.,  iv.— 
Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  418,  u.  558-560;  p.  421,  n.  564,  565;  p.  422, 
n.  566.  —  Forma  Urhis  Romce,  pis.  xxiii.,  xxx.,  xxxi. 


Fig.  15".  — Statuette  of  a  Girl  from  the  Horti  Lamiani. 

XXV.  IIoRTi  M.ECENATis.  —  Tile  old  Esquiline  cemetery  was 
divided  into  two  sections,  one  for  the  slaves,  beggars,  prisoners, 
and  criminals  who  had  undergone  capital  punishment,  another 
for  a  better  class  of  citizens  who  could  afford  to  be  buried  apart  in 
tombs  or  columbaria.    This  first  section  covered  an  area  1000  feet 


410  URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM  XIV 

long  and  300  deep  (297  metres  by  89.10),  and  contained  many />«??- 
cull  or  pits,  into  which  men  and  beasts,  bodies  and  carcasses,  and 
all  kinds  of  city  refuse  were  thrown  in  a  horrid  confusion.  About 
seventy-five  puticuli  were  discovered  and  explored  in  the  cutting 
of  the  Via  Napoleone  III.,  some  containing  a  uniform  mass  of 
black,  viscid,  pestilent,  vmctuous  matter,  whilst  in  others  the  bones 
could  in  a  measure  be  singled  out  and  identified.  The  neighbor- 
hood of  this  field  of  death  was  set  apart  for  the  daily  refuse  of  the 
city. 

The  suppression  of  this  hotbed  of  pestilence,  with  the  sanitary 
reform  of  public  cemeteries,  took  place  under  Augustus  at  the 
suggestion  of  his  prime  minister  C.  Cilnius  Maecenas.  The  whole 
district,  alongside  the  Agger  of  Servius  Tullius,  was  buried  under 
a  mass  of  earth  six  to  eight  metres  high,  and  gardens  were  laid  out 
on  the  newly-made  ground,  which  became  the  world-famous  Horti 
Msecenatiani.     The  event  was  sung  by  Iloi'ace  (Sat.  i.  8,  14)  :  — 

"Nunc  licet  Esquiliis  habitare  saluhrihus,  atque 
Aggere  in  aprico  spatiari,  quo  modo  tristes 
Albis  informem  spectabant  ossibus  agrum." 

The  gardens  contained  a  palace  and  a  tower  or  "  belvedere,"  which 
Horace  describes  as  reaching  the  clouds:  "  molem  propinquam 
nubilnis."  Nero  is  accused  by  Suetonius  of  having  watched  from 
this  lofty  observatory  the  progress  of  the  flames  in  the  fire  of 
July,  64,  while  singing  the  capture  and  burning  of  Troy  in  a 
theatrical  robe ;  but  the  fact  is  contradicted  by  Tacitus.  No 
further  mention  occurs  of  the  gardens  in  classics.  In  the  Middle 
Ages  they  took  the  name  of  Massa  luliana,  which  has  survived  to 
our  own  times  in  the  church  and  convent  of  S.  Giuliano.^  There 
are  two  groups  of  remains  within  the  area  of  the  horti :  one  in 
the  Piazza  Fanti,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Aquarium,  consisting  of  a 
few  rooms  with  mosaic  pavements  ;  one  at  the  corner  of  the  vie 
Merulana  and  Leopardi,  which  deserves  a  visit.  It  is  a  noble  hall 
built  of  reticulated  work,  half  underground,  with  six  niches  on 
each  of  the  side  walls,  and  seven  steps  in  the  curve  of  the  apse. 
The  following  cut  (Fig.  158)  shows  the  hall  in  the  state  in  which 
it  was  found  in  March,  1874.  The  apse  and  the  niches  were 
covered  with  exquisite  landscapes,  in  the  style  of  those  of  Livia's 
villa  at  Prima  Porta.  These  have  since  all  faded  away  except  a 
few  bits  under  the  shelter  of  the  niches.     Visconti  gave  the  hall 

1  Louis   Duchesne,  Liber  pontif.,    vol.  ii.  p.  44,  n.  84.  —  De  Rossi,   Bull, 
crist.,  1871,  p.  28. 


THE    GARDENS    OF   M^CENAS 


411 


the  name  of  auditorium  or  "  sala  de  recitazioni,"  assuming  that  it 
could  accommodate  334  spectators  ;  others  believe  it  to  have  been  a 
conservatory  for  rare  and  delicate  plants.  The  hall  is  on  view 
every  Thursday,  and  permits  are  delivered  at  the  Ufficio  della 
Commissione  Archeologica  Municipale,  Aracoeli,  Capitol. 

The  catalogue  of  the  works  of  art  discovered  at  various  times 
in  the  gardens  of  Maecenas  is  vei-y  copious.     Hermae  or  busts  of 


Fig.  158.  — The  Conservatory  of  the  Uardi-ns  ol  M;icenas 


eminent  men  come  in  the  first  place.  Vacca  calls  them  "  portraits 
of  philosophers  .  .  .  one  of  which  is  of  Socrates."  One  of  Homer 
was  found  in  1704  between  S.  Antonio  and  S.  Vito,  and  a  replica 
in  the  Via  Merulana.  A  portrait  statue  of  Euripides  with  the 
name  of  his  tragedies  engraved  on  a  tablet  came  to  light  in  the 
same  district.  Between  1872  and  1878  twelve  mo^e  heads  were 
found,  and  removed  to  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori,  together  with 
a  superb  figure  of  a  mastiff  in  verde  ranocchia,  a  semi-colossal 
group  of  Herciiles  and  (one  of)  the  horses  ]>\\t  together  out  of  137 
pieces,  a  replica  of  the  so-called  "  genius  of  the  Vatican,"  a  figure 
of  Marsyas  of  pavonazzetto,  a  statue  of  Silenus,  an  exquisite  head 
of  an  Amazon,  several  cai'yatides,  and  marble  fountains  of  various 
shapes,  one  of  which  is  here  reproduced.     This  graceful  object  is 


412 


URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


signed  by  nONTlOS,  an  Athenian  artist,  and  presents  the  form  of 
a  drinking-horn  or  rhytou  placed  on  a  group  of  lotus  leaves.  The 
mouth  of  the  rhyton  may  have  been  used  as  a  flower-pot,  while 
the  water  fell  from  the  mouth  of  the  winged  monster.  All  these 
objects  are  exhibited  in  the  octagonal  hall  and  gallery  of  the 
Palazzo  dei  Conservatori.     The  epigram  of  Kallimachos  painted 


^"^^^S^^j,- 


Fig.  159. 


-  The  Fountain  of  Pontics  the  Athenian,  discovered  in  the  Gardens  of 
Maecenas. 


on  the  walls  of  the  greenhouse,  illustrated  by  Visconti  and  Dressel, 
is  preserved  in  the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio,  Hall  No.  II. 

LiTEKATUKE.  —  Aiitoiiio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  339.  —  Carlo  Liido- 
vico  Visconti,  in  Bull,  com.,  1874,  p.  137,  pis.  xi.-xviii.  —  August  Mau,  Bull. 
Inst.,  1875,  p.  89;  and  Ann.  Inst.f.  1880,  p.  137,  note. —  Heinrich  Dressel, 
RirJista  di  filologia,  anno  111,  April-June.  —  Eidolfino  Venuti,  Cod.  vatic, 
9024,  f.  232.  —  Flaminio  Vacca,  Mem.  39  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  Ixxii). 
—  Francesco  Ficoroni,  Vestir/ie  di  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  10.  —  Winckelmann, 
Storia  delle  arti,  vol.  ii.  p.  63;  and  Mem,.  2  (in  Fea's  MiscelL,  vol.i.  p.  clxxxiii). 

XXVI.  HoiiTi  LoLLiANi.  —  In  building  the  foundations  of  the 
"  Istituto  ]\Iassimi,"  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Princiise  Umberto 
and  the  Piazza  di  Termini,  some  terminal  stones  were  found  in- 
scribed with  the  words,  "  These  stones  mark  the  boundaiy  line  of 
the  gardens  of  Lollia  [Horti  Lolliani],  which  are  now  the  property 
of  the  Emperor  Claudius."     Lollia  Paulina  was  made  an  Empress 


THE    GARDENS    OF   SALLUST  413 

by  Caligula  in  a.  d.  37,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  her  legal  hus- 
band, Menimius  Regulus ;  but  Caligula  soon  grew  tired  of  the  al- 
liance and  Lollia  was  banished  from  the  Imperial  house.  Eleven 
years  later  Claudius,  being  in  quest  of  a  wife  after  the  death  of 
Messalina,  hesitated  for  a  while  between  the  two  professional 
beauties  of  the  age,  Lollia  and  Agri[>pina.  Agrippina  won  the 
day,  and  her  tirst  act  was  to  obtain  the  banishment  of  her  rival 
and  the  confiscation  of  her  property.  The  Horti  Lolliani  thus 
became  part  of  tlie  great  Imperial  park  on  the  Esquiline. 

LiTEKATURE.  —  Raifaele  Garnicci,  in  Civilta  Cattclica,  serie  xii.  vol.  iv. 
fasc.  800,  p.  205.  — Ancient  Home,  p.  lOi.  — Xotizie  Scavi,  1883,  p.  339.—  Cor- 
pus Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  31,284. 

XXATI.  HoRTi  Sallustiani  —  originally  laid  out  by  the  his- 
torian Sallust  with  the  wealth  acquired  during  his  governorship 
of  Numidia.  After  his  death  they  passed  into  the  hands  of  Q. 
Sallustius  Crispus,  to  become  crown  property  at  the  time  of 
Tiberius.  They  were  a  favorite  residence  of  many  Emperors,  who 
enlarged  the  domain  with  subsequent  acquisitions,  embellished  it 
with  the  costliest  works  of  art,  and  supplied  it  lilierally  witli  water. 
There  were  several  reservoirs  for  the  storage  aiul  distribution  of 
the  water  over  the  grounds  :  one  of  them,  two  hundred  metres 
long,  runs  parallel  with  the  Via  Venti  Settembre  under  the  Hotel 
Royal  and  the  houses  facing  the  Ministero  delle  Finanze ;  another 
can  still  be  seen  in  the  riding-grounds  of  the  king's  corazzieri, 
Vicolo  di  S.  Nicola  da  Tolentino ;  a  third  was  discovered  in  1888 
right  under  the  Casino  dell'  Aurora.  The  water-pipes  bear  the 
names  of  Claudius,  Trajan,  Severus  Alexander,  and  of  one  of  the 
Valentinians. 

Among  the  historical  events  connected  with  Sallust's  gardens 
are  the  attack  made  on  them  by  Antony,  one  of  the  generals  of 
Vespasian,  in  the  campaign  against  the  Vitellians  in  a.  d.  70 ;  the 
long  residence  of  Vespasian,  who  ordered  the  gates  of  the  park 
and  of  the  palace  to  be  kept  open  to  every  one  and  removed  the 
sentinels  from  them ;  the  death  of  Xerva  in  his  seventy-second 
year,  which  took  place  a.  d.  99 ;  the  long  residence  in  them  of 
Aurelian,  who  built  a  colonnade  called  port ic us  Milliariensis,  be- 
caiise  it  was  1000  feet  (297  metres)  long.  Under  the  shelter  of  it 
he  would  fatigue  himself  and  his  horses  by  constant  riding,  al- 
though already  advanced  in  years.  A  curiosity  was  shown  in  the 
crypts  of  the  palace :  the  bodies  of  two  giants  named  Possion  and 
Secundilla.  each  10  feet  3  inches  long  (3.04  metres).     Palace  and 


414 


URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 


gardens  were  burnt  down  and  devastated  by  Alaric  on  August 
10,  410. 

The  principal  ornament  of  the  gardens  was  the  Temple  of 
Venus  Erycina,  afterwards  named  Sallustiana,  or  else  "  Venus 
hortorum  Sallustianorum."  Classics  described  it  as  standing  at 
the  head  of  the  valley  between  the  Pincian  and  the  Quirinal,  out- 
side the  Porta  Collina.  Its  construction  had  been  promised  by 
the  consul  L.  Porcius  while  engaged  in  the  Ligurian  war  of  184 
B.  c,  and  its  dedication  had  taken  place  two  years  later. 


Fig.  ICO. 


-  Part  of  the  Marble  Throne  of  the  Veuus  Sallustiana,  now  in  the  Ludovisi 
Museum. 


The  temple  was  discovered  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury in  the  vineyard  then  belonging  to  Gabriel  Vacca,  father  of 
Flaminio,  who  describes  it  as  round  peripteral,  with  the  peristyle 
of  fluted  columns  of  giallo  antico,  and  with  four  pairs  of  columns 
of  alabaster  at  the  four  entrances.  The  discovery  aroused  the 
interest  of  antiquaries.  Pirro  Ligorio  sketched  and  described  it 
in  "Cod.  vatic,"  3439,  f.  28;  "Cod.  paris.  (fonds  St.  Germain)," 
86,  etc. ;  and  Panvinio  wrote  a  brief  comment  on  Ligorio's  de- 
signs. The  temple  contained  a  statue  of  the  goddess  seated  on  a 
throne ;  the  upper  pai't  of  the  throne  here  reproduced  (Fig.  160) 
was  discovered  in  the  summer  of  1887,  near  the  junction  of  the 
vie  Boncompagni  and  Abruzzi ;  the  head  of  the  statue  —  a  won- 
derful specimen  of  Greek  archaic  art  —  has  formed  part  of  the 
Boncompagni-Ludovisi  Museum  since  its  first  institution  (n.  33, 
Pioom  III.). 


THE    GARDENS    OF   SALLUST  415 

Literature.  —  Carlo  Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull,  com.,  1887,  p.  267,  pis.  xv., 
xvi.  —  Eugt'iie  Petersen,  MittheiluiKjen,  18'J2,  p.  32,  pi.  ii.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig, 
Guide,  vol.  ii.  p.  112,  n.  882.  —  Kodolfo  Lanciaui,  Bull,  com.,  1888,  p.  .3. — 
Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheilungen,  1889,  p.  270. 

The  gardens  contained  also  a  group  of  buildings  of  Egyptian 
style,  so  much  in  fashion  in  Rome  at  the  time  of  Hadrian.  To 
these  structures  belong  the  four  statues,  formerly  in  the  Capitoline 
Museum  and  now  in  the  Vatican,  two  of  which  were  discovered  in 
1714,  two  in  1720.  They  are  clever  Roman  copies  of  Egyptian 
originals,  and  are  cut  in  red  granite  and  gray  basalt.  The  obelisk 
now  in  front  of  the  Trinitk  de  Monti  formed  part  of  the  same 
group.  Ligorio  saw  it  lying  in  the  vineyard  of  Messer  Paulo 
Patella  about  1550,  and  made  a  sketch  of  it  in  "  Cod.  vat.,"  3439, 
f.  3.  Sixtus  V.  had  planned  to  raise  it  in  front  of  the  church  of 
S.  Maria  degli  Angeli,  but  he  had  not  time  to  carry  the  project 
into  execution.  In  1733  one  of  the  Ludovisi  princesses  made  a 
present  of  it  to  Clement  XII.,  who  caused  it  to  be  removed  to  the 
Lateran,  then  in  course  of  reconstruction.  I  have  found  in  volume 
(t,  1,  of  tlie  Queen's  Library  at  Windsor  a  sketch  by  Carlo  Eontana, 
showing  the  exact  place  in  which  the  two  jiieces  of  the  obelisk 
were  lying  in  170G,  when  that  architect  was  urging  Pope  Albani, 
Clement  XL,  to  erect  it  in  the  niche  of  the  Fountain  of  Trevi. 
It  was  ultimately  set  up  at  the  top  of  the  steps  of  the  Trinita  by 
Pius  VI.  in  1808.  Its  socle,  of  red  granite,  measuriiig  323  cubic 
feet,  was  discovered  accidentally  in  1843,  near  the  gate  of  the  villa. 
It  now  lies  abandoned  in  the  Piazza  del  Maccao,  near  the  reservoir 
of  the  Acqua  Marcia. 

Literature. —  Bottari,  Museo  Capitol.,  vol.  iii.  ii.  76,  77.  —  Braschi,  De 
tribus  statuis,  i.  5. — Gio.  Battista  Cipriani,  De[/li  Obelisclri,  p.  19.  —  Eniiliano 
Sarti,  Archivio  Societa  storia  jmtria,  vol.  ix.  p.  436. 

The  only  remains  now  visible  in  the  Piazza  Sallustiana,  at  a 
great  depth  under  its  level,  belong  to  a  nymphseum  built  over  the 
springs  of  the  river  Petronia,  which  were  originally  called  Catifons. 
The  nymphfeum  is  connected  with  a  palace  of  very  curious  design, 
of  whicli  not  less  than  four  stories  can  still  be  traced.  Excellent 
designs  by  Ligorio  can  be  found  in  "  Cod.  jaarisin.  (fonds  St.  Ger- 
main)," n.  1139,  f.  311-314  ;  and  in  "  Cod.  vatic,"  3439,  f.  27,  30, 48. 
These  gardens  of  Sallust  had  practically  survived  the  shocks  of 
time  and  lasted  to  our  own  days.  I  think  that,  as  regards  natural 
beauty  and  taste  in  the  arrangement  of  their  shady  walks,  open 
vistas,  floral  decorations,  artificial  ponds,  etc.,  the  Villa  Ludovisi 


416 


URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 


and  the  Villa  Massimo,  which  covered  the  same  ground,  were  not 
inferior  to  the  old  Roman  park.  The  Museo  Liidovisi  contained, 
perhaps,  more  masterpieces  of  Greco-Roman  art  than  Sallust  and 
his  Imperial  successors  had  been  able  to  gather  in  the  gardens. 
Both  villas,  the  pride  of  modern  Rome,  were  mercilessly  sacrificed 
by  their  owners  in  1886,  and  to  no  purpose  whatever.     It  is  true 


Fig.  IGl.  —  A  Group  of  Pines  in  the  Villa  Ludovisi,  cut  down  in  1887. 


that  the  villas  have  disappeared,  that  their  magnificent  ilexes 
have  been  burnt  into  charcoal,  their  great  pines  used  for  timber, 
their  hills  and  dales  cut  away  or  filled  up  to  a  dead  level,  and 
their  deliciously  shady  avenues  destroyed  to  make  room  for  broad, 
straight,  sun-beaten  thoroughfares ;  yet  no  one  seems  to  have 
gained  by  it.  Those  who  sold  and  those  who  bought  the  grounds 
have  failed  alike  in  their  speculations,  and  the  new  quarter  remains 
still  unfinished. 

Besides  the  head  and  the  throne  of  tlie  Venus  Sallustiana,  many 
works  of  art  have  passed  from  these  gardens  into  our  museums. 
Ligorio  mentions  the  discovery  of  life-size  figures  of  Niobe  and 
the  Xiobides  in  full  relief,  belonging  jM-obably  to  the  pediment  of 


THE    GARDENS    OF   SALLUST  417 

a  temple,  of  statues  of  Bacchus  and  of  a  Faun,  together  with 
several  Nymphs  of  fountains.  The  celebrated  Silenus  with  the 
infant  Dionysos  in  his  arms,  formerly  in  the  Villa  Borghese  and 
now  in  the  Louvre  (Frohner,  Catalogue,  1889,  p.  265,  n.  250), 
and  the  Bacchic  Vase  in  the  same  museum  (ibid.,  p.  302,  n.  311) 
were  discovered  about  1575  near  the  present  Casino  Massimo. 
The  statue  of  Zeus,  n.  326  Sala  dei  Busti,  Vatican  Museum,  seems 
to  have  been  discovered  near  the  site  of  the  obelisk,  together  with 
other  works  of  art  formerly  in  possession  of  the  Verospi  family. 
Winckehnann  mentions  a  group  of  two  young  girls  playing  with  the 
6.ffTpdya\oi,  discovered  in  1765  and  bought  by  General  Walmoden. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Dying  Gaul  of  the  Capitoline  Museum 
and  the  group  of  a  Gaul  and  his  wife  of  the  Boncompagni  Museum  ^ 
belong  to  the  same  artistic  composition,  and  to  the  same  place,  tlie 
Gardens  of  Sallust.  Helbig  contends  that  the  composition,  of 
which  the  group  occupied  the  centre  and  the  Dying  Gaul  the 
extreme  right  corner,  cannot  "  have  formed  the  sculptural  decora- 
tion of  a  pediment,  because  the  plinths  are  oval  instead  of  rectan- 
gular. The  life-like  details  of  the  works  would  also  have  been 
lost  at  so  great  a  height.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  group 
of  the  Villa  Ludovisi,  the  Capitoline  figure,  and  the  other  statues 
of  the  series  were  placed  side  by  side  on  one  or  more  pedestals  of 
moderate  elevation,"  like  the  Niobides  of  the  Horti  Lamiani. 
Helbig  also  thinks  that  the  composition  did  not  represent  "Par- 
nasi  eiectos  de  vertice  Gallos,"  a  companion  subject  to  the  slaughter 
of  Niobe's  children,  but  a  victory  gained  by  King  Attalos  I.  of 
Pergamos  over  the  Gauls.  We  must  remember,  however,  that 
Ligorio's  account  of  the  existence  of  statues  of  Niobides  in  these 
gardens  is  confirmed  by  the  discovery  of  a  fragment  of  one  of 
the  female  figures  made  in  1887.  The  fragment  is  preserved  in 
the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio. 

Another  portion  of  the  Gardens  of  Sallust,  the  beautiful  valley 
in  the  shape  of  a  circus,  with  the  cliffs  shaded  by  evergreens,  dis- 
appeared in  1881-82,  when  Herr  Spithoever,  the  librarian,  who 
had  bought  the  ground  from  the  Barberini,  filled  up  the  valley 
with  the  materials  of  the  Servian  embankment  which  crowned 
the  cliffs,  and  turned  one  of  the  most  picturesque  corners  of  the 
city  into  flat  building  lots. 

Xo  traces  of  the  temple  of  Venus  Erycina  (Venus  Hortorum 
Sallustianorum)  were  found  ;  but  tlie  foundations  of  that  of  one 
of  the  three  Fortunes  ad  Portam  Collinam  came  to  light  near  the 
1  The  so-called  Dying  Gladiator,  and  group  of  Arria  and  Pietus. 


THE   ACILIAN   GARDENS  419 

junction  of  tlie  A"ia  Venti  Settenibre  and  Via  Salaria.  Many 
works  of  art  were  collected  by  Spithoever  on  this  occasion.  Twenty 
metres  below  the  platform  of  the  temple,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
moat  which  protected  the  Servian  embankment  from  the  outside,  a 
statue  was  found,  life-size,  and  of  good  workmanship,  representing 
P2ndymion  asleep  on  the  rocks  of  Mount  Latmos.  A  few  steps 
farther  a  statue  of  Leda  and  the  Swan  came  to  light,  a  good  copy 
of  a  better  original,  and  also  the  figure  of  a  dog  finely  cut  in  rosso 
antico. 

Literature.  — Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  pp.  281  and  348. 
—  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Gulih,  vol.  i.  p.  164,  n.  245  ;  and  p.  396,  n.  533;  vol.  ii. 
p.  117,  H.  884.  —  Kodolfo  Lauciani,  I  comentarii  di  Frontino,  p.  224,  n.  87-94; 
and  Itlnenirio  di  Einsiedlen,  pp.  27,  28. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  122,  4327, 
.5863,  8670,  8671,  'MOb.  —  BuU.  com.,  1880,  p.  133;  1885,  p.  ICtb.  — Forma  Urbis 
Romie,  pi.  iii.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i.  second  edit.  pp. 
31.5,  319,  335. 

XXVIII.  HoRTi  LucuLLiANi,  ou  the  slope  of  the  Pincian  hill, 
now  crossed  by  the  vie  Sistina,  Gregoriana,  due  Macelli,  and 
Capo  le  Case.  These  gardens,  laid  out  by  Lucullus  and  l)rought 
to  perfection  by  Valerius  Asiaticus,  contained  a  palace,  the  favorite 
residence  of  ^lessalina ;  porticoes  and  libraries  in  which  Lucullus 
gathered  the  leading  savants  of  his  age  ;  and  a  banqueting-hall 
named  from  Apollo,  where  Cicero  and  Pompey  the  Great  had  been 
entertained  at  dinner.  No  traces  remain  of  these  buildings,  except 
some  mosaic  pavements  under  the  houses  Via  Sistina  No.  57  and 
Via  Gregoriana  No.  46,  and  some  walls  under  and  near  the  Mi- 
gnanelli  palace.  Two  well-known  works  of  art  have  been  found 
on  the  site  of  these  gardens  :  the  so-called  Arrotino,  or  Scythian 
sharpening  his  knife  for  the  execution  of  Marsyas,  now  in  the 
Tribuna  degli  Uffizi,  Floi'ence  ;  and  the  head  of  Ulysses,  discovered 
in  the  foundations  of  the  Colonna  della  Concezione,  Piazza  di 
Spagna,  now  in  the  Vatican  ]\Iuseum. 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  336. — Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1891,  pp.  150-153. 

XXIX.  HoRTi  AciLiANi  (Passeggiata  del  Pincio,  Villa 
Medici).  —  The  promenade  of  the  Pincian  is  known  to  strangers 
and  to  most  of  the  Romans  as  a  simple  pleasiu'e-ground,  giving 
opportunities  for  a  pleasant  walk  in  shade  or  sunshine,  and  for 
meeting  friends.  Its  terraces  overhanging  the  valley  of  the  Tiber, 
and  the  plains  crossed  by  the  Via  Flaminia,  seem  to  have  been 
created  by  the  genius  of  Valadier  for  the  enjoyment  of  our  golden 
sunsets,  when    the   opposite  ridge   of  the   Monte   Mario   appears 


420  URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM   XIV 

fringed  with  a  glowing  halo  of  fire.  There  is,  moreover,  another 
attraction  unknown  to  the  "  valgus  profanum,"  the  historical  and 
archaeological  associations  of  the  place. 

Many  suppositions  had  been  made  by  topographers  as  to  the 
former  state  of  the  hill,  until  the  controversy  was  settled  by  an 
accidental  discovery  made  in  1868.  Whilst  new  water-pipes  were 
being  laid  in  the  avenue  which  leads  from  the  Trinita  de'  Monti 
to  the  "  rond  point,"  where  the  Cairoli  monument  has  lately  been 
erected,  a  votive  marble  tablet  was  discovered  at  a  depth  of  three 
feet,  inscribed  with  the  following  dedication:  Tychicus frecdman 
of  (Manius  Acilius)  Glahrio,  and  intendant  (or  keeper)  of  his 
(jardens,  has  dedicated  (this  shrine)  to  Silvanus.  The  tablet  is  of 
delicate  workmanship,  with  edges  cut  sharply  in  the  shape  of  a 
swallow's  tail;  and  as  these  pointed  edges  were  in  pei'fect  con- 
dition, it  is  evident  that  the  tablet  was  found  not  far  from  its 
original  place.  The  family  of  the  Acilii,  of  whose  gardens  Tychi- 
cus was  intendant,  may  be  called  the  noblest  among  the  noble  in 
ancient  times.  It  was  divided  into  several  branches,  such  as  the 
Acilii  Aviolae  and  the  Acilii  Glabriones.  The  latter  is  especially 
known  in  Roman  history,  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Ther- 
mopylae, in  which  Acilius  Glabrio,  consul  191  b.  c,  defeated  King 
Antiochus.  His  great-grandson  and  namesake,  the  consul  of  67, 
and  commander-in-chief  in  the  Mithridatic  war,  is  better  known 
to  students  as  the  Praetor  Urbanus  who  presided  over  the  im- 
peachment of  Verres  (70  b.  c).  In  Imperial  days  the  name  of 
the  family  appears  not  less  than  eleven  times  in  the  fasti  consulares, 
therefore  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  who  is  the  Glabrio 
mentioned  in  the  tablet  as  owner  of  the  Pincian  villa.  The 
palaeography  of  the  inscription  seems  to  pertain  to  the  end  of  the 
second  century,  in  which  a  Manius  Acilius  Glabrio  twice  obtained 
the  consulship. 

The  discoveries  made  by  De  Rossi  in  the  catacombs  of  Priscilla 
have  thrown  an  unexpected  light  on  the  history  of  these  Acilii 
Glabriones.  De  Rossi  had  repeatedly  expressed  a  doubt  as  to 
whether  the  Acilii  had  become  Christians  at  a  very  early  period. 
Thrice  he  has  discussed  the  problem  in  his  "  Bullettino  "  (1863, 
p.  29;  ISe.'),  p.  20;  1869,  p.  78),  but  the  evidence  he  was  able  to 
collect  was  merely  circumstantial.  The  discovery  of  a  beautiful 
hypogaeum  of  the  second  century  in  the  very  heart  of  Priscilla's 
cemetery,  containing  the  tombstone  of  IManius  Acilius  Verus  and 
Acilia  Priscilla,  son  and  daughter  of  Manius  Acilius  Glabrio,  consul 
A.  D.  1.52,  proves  that  the  "  noblest  among  the  noble  "  had  embraced 
our  faith  from  the  first  announcement  of  the  gospel  in  Rome. 


THE   AC  I  LI  AN    GARDENS  421 

To  come  back,  however,  to  the  Pinciau  Hill,  we  must  remark 
that  the  gardens  of  the  Aciliau  family  were  not  confined  to  the 
narrow  limits  of  the  Promenade,  but  comprised  within  their  present 
boundary  line  the  Villa  Medici,  a  portion  of  the  Villa  Borghese, 
and  the  convent  and  garden  of  the  Trinita  de'  Monti.  Many 
discoveries  have  taken  place  in  this  vast  sm-face  of  ground,  from 
the  time  of  cardinals  Riccio  di  Montepulciano  and  Ferdinando  de' 
]\Iedici  to  the  present  day.  The  accounts  left  by  contemporary 
writers,  compared  with  the  existing  ruins,  enable  us  to  reconstruct 
the  general  outline  of  the  villa,  as  well  as  the  detailed  plans  of 
some  of  its  leading  structures.  These  structures  may  be  classified 
as  follows.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  the  supporting  walls  of 
the  terraces  facing  the  north  and  the  east,  afterwards  inclosed  by 
Aurelian  in  his  line  of  city  walls ;  then  come  the  buildings 
connected  with  the  supply,  storage,  and  distribution  of  water,  such 
as  nymphaja,  reservoirs,  aqueducts,  fountains,  etc. ;  thirdly,  the 
palace  of  the  Acilian  family,  and  the  residences  of  their  servants, 
gardeners,  gamekeepers,  etc. ;  lastly,  the  wine-cellars,  which  form 
one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  estate. 

The  substructures  facing  the  east  and  the  north  side  of  the 
rectangle,  towards  the  Villa  Borghese,  have  been  mostly  concealed 
l)y  modern  buttresses,  raised  between  1850  and  1865  by  Vescovali. 
They  are  built  of  reticulated  work,  with  edges  of  small  tufa 
blocks,  a  style  of  construction  which  is  considered  especially 
characteristic  of  the  time  of  Sulla.  Their  surface  is  corrugated 
by  a  luimber  of  niches,  with  buttresses  projecting  between  them, 
so  as  to  give  to  the  whole  construction  the  look  of  an  aqueduct. 
This  is  probably  the  reason  why,  in  a  document  of  10"26,  edited  by 
Tommasetti,  the  substructures  are  called  (jli  arcioni  (the  arcades). 

In  the  second  decade  of  this  century.  Count  Tournon,  prefect 
of  the  Napoleonic  department  of  the  Tiber,  aided  by  Valadier  and 
other  eminent  artists,  laid  out  the  plans  for  turning  the  vineyards, 
then  belonging  to  the  Augustinian  monks  of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo,^ 
into  a  public  promenade.  The  works  began  in  1812,  on  the 
slope  facing  the  Campus  Martins,  and  were  watched  by  Giuseppe 
Guattani,  to  whom  the  archaeological  interests  of  the  enterprise 
had  been  intrusted. 

1  Tlicro  aru  two  relics  left  of  this  ri//n<i  dei  Frati  del  Popolo :  two  old 
umbrella  pines  which  mark  the  site  of  one  of  the  gates  opening  on  a  side  lane. 
They  are  to  be  seen  not  far  from  the  fountain  of  Moses  in  the  inner  garden, 
and  are  conspicuous  in  the  spring  from  the  rich  mass  of  climbing  roses  which 
covers  their  trunks. 


422 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 


He  asserts  that  he  saw  remains  of  the  same  substructure  walls 
all  along  this  western  slope,  from  S.  Maria  del  Popolo  to  the 
Vicolo  del  Borghetto  :  there  were  two  lines  of  them,  one  above  the 
other  ;  the  lower  terrace  contained  no  trace  of  buildings,  the  upper 


THE   ACILIAN   GARDENS  423 

one  was  covered  by  a  network  of  reticulated  walls.  The  best  and 
most  elaborate  part,  however,  of  these  substructures  has  been  seen 
and  described,  and  can  still  be  faintly  traced,  in  the  garden  of  the 
Sacro  Cuore  by  the  Trinita  de'  Monti,  under  the  gardener's  house. 
Lucio  Fauno  describes  this  part  as  a  "  gran  f abbrica  antica,  a  guisa 
d'  un  mezzo  cerchio  che  e  gia  per  andare  in  rovina."  Pirro  Ligorio 
adds  tliat  the  hemicycle  opened  toward  the  west,  that  it  measured 
llOU  feet  (326.70  metres)  in  diameter,  and  that  it  was  profusely 
ornamented  with  colonnades,  staircases,  fountains,  niches,  and 
statuary.  The  nymphaeum  or  "  Parnaso  "  of  the  Villa  Aldobran- 
dini  at  Frascati,  designed  by  Giacomo  della  Porta,  although  smaller 
in  size,  may  give  an  idea  of  the  magnificent  hemicycle  of  the 
Acilian  gardens  (Fig.  163).  Ligorio  ends  his  description  by  saying, 
"  questo  luogo  e  rovinato  e  dal  tempo  e  da  li  frati  della  Trinita." 

A  plan  of  these  ruins,  now  concealed  from  view,  has  been  given 
in  the  "  Bull,  com."  of  1891,  pi.  v.,  vi.  The  best  way  of  examin- 
ing those  left  standing  on  the  side  of  the  Villa  Borghese  is  to 
walk  along  the  Via  delle  ]Mm'a  from  the  Porta  del  Popolo  to  the 
Porta  Pinciana.  This  lovely  walk  gives  the  student  an  opportun- 
ity of  observing  also  that  strange  relic,  called  the  "  ]Muro  Torto," 
which  marks  the  northeast  corner  of  the  gardens.     In  the  Middle 


.,^..t-U'^^-*^" 


VIA   DfLLE    MURA. 


Fig.  1C4.  —The  Substructures  of  the  Gardens  of  the  Acilii  Glabriones  on  the  Pincian. 
A  Sketch  by  Valadier. 

Ages  women  of  ill  fame  were  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  Muro  Torto, 
and  in  more  recent  times  men  and  women  who  had  refused  reli- 
gious help  on  the  scaffold. 

I  have  in  my  collection  of  drawings  an  original  sketch  by 
Valadier  (here  reproduced.  Fig.  164)  which  shows  how  beautifully 
preserved  the  substructures  were  when  he  undertook  to  transform 


424  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

the  Vigna  dei  Frati  Agostiniani  into  the  present  Passeggiata. 
The  walls  were  lined  by  masses  of  evergreens,  an  overhanging 
forest  which  was  periodically  leased  or  sold  by  the  Camera  Capi- 
tolina  to  dealers  in  charcoal  or  firewood.  I  have  seen  a  lease 
dated  September  11,  1716,  by  which  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  allows  a  cer- 
tain Francesco  Battaglia  "  di  cioccare,  ripulire,  e  liberare  tutte  le 
mura  da  porta  del  Popolo  sino  a  p.  Piuciana,  da  radiche  spine, 
licini,  ellere,  ed  altro,"  on  condition  that  the  three  largest  ilex 
trees  shonld  be  left  to  the  Camera. 

Waterworks.  —  The  highest  point  of  the  Pincian  hill  is 
marked  by  a  conical  monnd  called  II  Parnaso  or  Belvedere  di 
Villa  Medici,  from  which  Karl  Sprosse  designed  in  1817  his  beau- 
tiful panorama  of  the  city.  The  mound  is  an  artificial  one :  it  is 
the  work  of  Cardinal  Riccio  da  Montei^ulciano,  who  took  advan- 
tage of  some  existing  ruins  to  form  a  foundation  for  his  belvedere. 
The  ruins  are  marked  in  early  maps  of  Rome  under  the  name 
of  "the  Temple  of  the  Sun."  A  drawing  of  Sallustio  Peruzzi 
(Uffizi,  n.  665)  shows  that  the  would-be  Temple  of  the  Sun  was 
simply  a  nymphaeum,  like  the  one  of  the  Sallustian  gardens,  and 
the  so-called  ]\Iinerva  INledica  of  the  Licinian  park.  It  was  orna- 
mented with  fourteen  niches  or  fountains,  and  towei-ed  high  above 
an  extensive  and  elaborate  system  of  waterworks.  It  stood  on  a 
line  with  the  hemicycle  the  remains  of  which  have  been  described 
above,  and  it  is  possible  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Villa  Aldo- 
brandini  at  Frascati,  masses  of  water  rushed  down  in  graceful 
cascades  from  the  nymphseum  to  the  terraces  below. 

Other  masses  of  water,  for  the  irrigation  of  the  estate,  were 
carried  by  means  of  underground  channels  and  leaden  pipes  to  a 
reservoir,  which  is  still  partially  in  use.  The  reservoir  is  exca- 
vated in  the  rock,  and  consists  of  galleries  six  feet  wide,  and  seven 
and  a  half  high,  intersecting  each  other  at  right  angles.  When  I 
descended  for  the  first  time  into  these  ci-ypts,  on  June  12,  1876, 
only  twenty-one  galleries  were  accessible,  of  which  ten  ran  from 
southwest  to  northeast,  eleven  in  the  opposite  direction.  Far 
more  numerous  are  those  made  inaccessible  by  the  crumbling 
down  of  the  roof  or  by  the  hands  of  the  monks.  "  On  the  Pin- 
cian hill,"  relates  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli,  "  there  was  a  large  reser- 
voir of  water,  half  destroyed  by  certain  monks  (the  Augustinians 
of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo)  to  turn  it  into  a  wine-cellar.  The  de- 
struction proved  to  be  useless,  because  the  crypts  are  too  warm 
for  the  preservation  of  wine."  Two  galleries,  80  metres  long, 
connect  this  labyrinth  with  a  piscina  on  which  the  modern  Casino 


THE   AC  I  LI  AN   GARDENS  425 

is  built.  The  piscina  —  now  used  as  a  storeroom  for  the  tools  of 
the  gardeners  —  is  composed  of  two  parts :  one,  30  metres  by  10, 
which  was  capable  of  holding  1200  cubic  metres  of  water;  the 
other  held  only  200.i 

The  palace  of  the  owners  occupied  that  portion  of  the  modern 
promenade  which  stretches  between  the  "Viale  deU'  Obelisco" 
and  the  northern  boundary  wall  of  the  Villa  Medici.  Its  centi-e 
is  marked  by  the  piscina  just  described,  viz.,  by  Valadier's  Casino, 
where  the  gardeners  are  stationed,  and  which,  of  late  years,  has 
partially  been  turned  into  a  restaurant.  The  buildings  faced  the 
southwest  with  a  frontage  line  of  230  metres.  The  style  of 
masonry  was  the  reticulated,  with  but  little  mixture  of  brickwork. 
The  plastering  of  the  walls  was  of  the  finest  quality,  composed  of 
marble  dust  and  lime.  The  pavements  were  inlaid  with  mosaic 
either  monochrome  or  in  colors,  and  the  apartments  were  painted 
in  the  so-called  Pompeian  style,  with  polychrome  figures  on  ver- 
milion or  black  grounds.  There  were  bathrooms,  with  hot-air 
pipes  radiating  from  the  furnace  or  hypocaustum  below ;  coi*ridors 
and  galleries,  the  floors  of  which  were  not  laid  horizontally,  but 
inclined  like  the  one  which  leads  down  to  Mfecenas'  hall  in  the 
Via  Merulana ;  rooms  with  cornices  and  panels  elegantly  carved 
in  gilt  stucco ;  others  with  a  dado  inlaid  in  alabast*?r,  porphyry, 
serpentine,  and  other  precious  marbles ;  remains  of  porticoes,  per- 
istyles, and  colonnades  with  pieces  of  columns  of  alabaster  and 
pavonazzetto  ;  capitals  of  the  composite  order  ;  a  colossal  head  of 
Niobe ;  and  a  torso  of  Cupid.  All  these  things  were  found  in 
1812.  In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  the  excavations  were 
continued  near  and  behind  the  apse  of  S.  Maria  del  Popolo ;  and 
here  also  many  apartments  were  excavated  with  i:»ainted  walls, 
mosaic  pavements,  marble  incrustations,  and  so  forth.  One  of 
the  leading  features  of  this  excavation  was  the  large  quantity 
of  seashells  found  among  the  rubbish  which  leveled  up  the 
ground  over  the  ruins.  They  were  examined  by  Brocchi,  who 
decided  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  geology  of  the 
Pincian  hill,  but  that  they  had  simply  been  used  as  a  decoration 
for  fountains  and  artificial  grottoes. 

Wine-cellars.  —  The  Via  delle  Mura  (between  the  Porta  del 
Popolo  and  the  Muro  Torto)  is  separated  from  the  foot  of  the 

1  The  entrance  to  these  crypts  (not  accessible  to  the  public)  is  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Casino,  on  the  right  of  the  little  fountain.  In  February,  1881, 
other  galleries  were  discovered  and  destroyed  right  under  the  wall  of  the 
Villa  Medici. 


426  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

substructures  by  a  strip  of  land,  which,  I  think,  is  now  occupied 
by  a  nursery  for  trees  and  shrubs  belonging  to  high  latitudes,  as 
the  place  is  naturally  cold  and  shaded  from  the  sun  even  in  the 
height  of  summer.  This  northern  aspect  of  the  slope  made  it 
especially  suitable  for  the  establishment  of  wine-cellars  and  caves, 
which,  as  every  one  knows,  constituted  one  of  the  most  important 
sections  of  a  Roman  villa.  And  here  they  have  been  found.  The 
discovery  took  place  more  than  a  century  ago,  and  was  fortunately 
witnessed  by  a  careful  archteologist,  Seroux  d'Agincourt,  who 
describes  it  in  p.  45  of  his  "  Recueil  des  fragments  de  sculpture 
antique  en  terre  cuite." 

Here  is  a  free  translation  of  his  graphic  account.  "  At  the 
foot  of  the  walls  of  Rome,  between  the  Porta  del  Popolo  and  the 
gate  of  the  Villa  Borghese  under  the  Muro  Torto,  a  small  stair- 
case composed  of  eight  or  nine  steps  was  discovered  in  1789,  in  an 
excavation  seven  feet  deep.  This  staircase  led  to  a  room  eighteen 
feet  long,  five  and  a  half  feet  wide,  paved  with  a  tessellated  floor 
in  black  and  white  of  a  strange  design.  The  walls  and  the  ceil- 
ing were  decorated  with  fresco  paintings  in  arabesque  style,  rep- 
resenting festoons  and  birds  of  various  kinds,  with  a  tasteful  coi*- 
nice  carved  in  stucco.  Next  to  this  chamber  there  was  another 
of  nearly  the  same  size,  but  without  ornaments.  Opening  on  this 
second  apartment  was  a  crypt  of  the  same  height  extending  to- 
wards the  Muro  Torto  for  a  length  of  eighty  or  ninety  feet.  The 
second  room  was  not  paved :  its  floor  was  covered  with  loose  sand 
into  which  amphorae  of  the  largest  size  were  fixed  upright.  I  be- 
lieve these  terra-cotta  jars  to  have  been  used  for  holding  wine  or 
even  precious  liqueurs.  They  stood  round  the  walls  in  a  single 
row.  The  long  gallery,  on  the  contrary,  contained  an  infinite 
quantity  of  earthen  jars,  ranged  in  parallel  lines,  all  in  a  stand- 
ing position,  as  their  peculiar  shape  required.  Although  they 
belonged  to  the  class  of  wine  amphorse  or  diotce,  still  tlie  variety 
of  their  forms,  and  even  more  the  variety  of  the  objects  found  in 
them  at  the  time  of  the  discovery,  leaves  us  rather  perplexed  as 
to  their  primitive  use.  One  of  the  vases  contained  water  in  a 
sufficiently  pure  state.  In  another  were  found  some  little  heads 
of  terra-cotta,  a  hand  cai'ved  in  ivory,  glass  and  terra-cotta  per- 
fume bottles  shaped  like  (the  so-called)  lachrymatories.  In  a  third, 
bones  of  oxen  expressly  cut  and  sawn  to  go  through  the  narrow 
neck  of  these  receptacles.  In  a  fourth  skeletons,  heads,  jaws,  ver- 
tebrae, bones  of  different  animals,  such  as  lizards,  serpents,  small 
quadrupeds,  and  even  scales  of  fish.     Others  contained  needles 


THE   ACILIAN    GARDENS  427 

of  ivory  and  metal,  hairpins,  medals,  and  coins.  The  initials 
M.  D.  S.  were  impressed  on  the  handle  of  several  jars,  and  on  the 
neck  of  one  the  maker's  name,  matvri.  I  could  not  find  on  any 
vase  the  names  of  consids  marking  the  date  of  the  year  in  which 
the  liquid  had  been  sealed  into  them.  Nothing  could  throw  any 
light  on  their  history,  or  tell  me  why  and  how  these  miscellaneous 
objects  should  be  found  mixed  together  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
give  an  idea  of  those  superstitious  incantations  and  evocations  of 
infernal  spirits  which  —  under  one  form  or  another  —  have  been 
practiced  by  credulous  people  from  remote  times  iip  to  the  present 
day.  On  the  floor  of  the  crypt,  and  buried  deep  in  the  sand,  an 
object  was  found  which  looked  like  the  top  or  handle  of  a  walk- 
ing-stick; it  was  made  of  glass  or  enamel,  with  that  iridescent 
patina  which  gives  to  such  things  the  look  of  mother-of-pearl.  I 
would  mention,  lastly,  fragments  of  terra-cotta  lamps,  dishes,  and 
cups,  and  some  bricks  bearing  the  mark  ex  officina  i>OMiT(«ae) 
L,vc(illae),  which  seems  to  confirm  the  opinion  of  those  anti- 
quaries who  place  the  gardens  of  the  Domitian  family  on  the 
Pincian  hill.^ 

"The  destruction  of  this  singular  and  interesting  monument 
should  be  put  in  the  list  of  those  due  to  the  thoughtlessness  and 
rapacity  of  landowners,  and  to  the  indifference  and  avidity  of 
their  workmen,  a  subject  of  everlasting  regret  in  Rome." 

Fresh  excavations  were  opened  in  the  same  place,  along  the 
northern  slope,  in  1813,  and  they  led  to  the  discovery  of  other 
groups  of  amphorse,  set  up  against  the  walls  of  the  caves  in  par- 
allel lines.  Other  amphorte  came  to  light  in  1868,  together  with 
the  inscription  of  Tychicus  near  the  gate  of  the  Trinita  de'  Monti. 
This  last  find  seems  to  indicate  that  wine-cellars  were  established 
not  only  in  a  place  naturally  exposed  to  the  tramontana  and 
shaded  from  the  sun,  but  wherever  the  building  of  the  substruc- 
tures afforded  an  opportunity  to  create  subterranean  vaults  under 
the  terraces  of  the  villa. 

Literature.  —  CorjOiw  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  62-3.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull. 
Inst,  1868,  p.  119.;  Bull,  com.,  1891,  p.  132;  and  Forma  Urbis,  sheet  i.— 
Lovatelli  Ersilia  Caetani,  //  rnonte  Pincio  (in  Miscellanea  Archeologica,  p. 
211.     Rome,  1891). 

XXX.  I  have  remarked  already  that  the  public  and  private 
parks  on  the  hills  of  the  left  bank  were  intersected  by  roads,  by 

1  The  brick-stamps  of  Domitia  Lucilla  prove  only  that  the  crypt  was  built 
towards  the  middle  of  the  second  centurj'. 


428  URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  VM   XIV 

popular  or  aristocratic  quarters,  and  by  great  public  buildings. 
Three  of  these,  belonging  to  the  sixth  region,  Alta  Semita,  are 
partially  left  standing :  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Villa 
Colonna,  the  baths  of  Diocletian,  and  the  Praetorian  Camp.  (See 
map,  Fig.  165.) 

XXXI.  Templum  Solis  Aureliani.  —  Communication  be- 
tween the  plains  of  the  Via  Flaminia  and  the  Quirinal  hill,  the 
favorite  abode  of  Roman  patricians,  had  always  been  difficult, 
owing  to  the  steepness  and  narrowness  of  the  streets  leading  to 
the  three  Quirinal  gates,  the  Salutaris  (Via  delle  Quattro  Fontane, 
Via  del  Giardino),  the  Sanqualis  (Salita  della  Dateria),  and  the 
Fontinalis  (Salita  delle  tre  Cannelle).  When  Aurelian,  after  the 
conquest  of  Palmyra,  determined  to  offer  to  the  Romans  a  speci- 
men of  eastern  architectural  splendor,  by  raising  a  great  temple  to 
the  Sun  on  the  very  hill  on  M'hich  it  had  been  worshiped  from 
time  immemorial  (soli  indigeti  in  colle  quirinali,  feast  day, 
August  9),  and  on  the  very  site  of  the  "  Pulvinar  Solis,"  which 
Quintilian  places  near  the  Temple  of  Quirinus,  he  combined  archi- 
tectural magnificence  with  public  utility.  The  temple  was  placed 
at  the  top  of  great  steps,  which,  like  our  Scalinata  della  Trinita 
de'  Monti,  were  destined  to  afford  a  direct  and  easy  communica- 
tion from  the  Campus  Martins  to  the  plateau  of  the  hill.  The 
steps  were  designed  so  that  great  crowds  could  ascend  or  descend 
them,  without  meeting  or  crossing  each  other. 

The  temple  itself  was  of  immense  size.  It  covered  an  area  of 
16.890  square  metres,  and  towered  to  the  height  of  thirty  metres 
above  the  pavement  of  the  sacred  inclosure.  The  shafts  of  the 
columns  were  17.66  metres  high,  the  Corinthian  capitals  2.47 
metres,  the  entablature  4.83  metres.  A  fragment  of  the  cornice 
lying  in  the  Villa  Colonna  weiglis  a  hundred  tons,  and  measures 
34.27  cubic  metres.  The  fountain  of  Sixtus  V.,  formerly  in  tiie 
Piazza  del  Popolo,  has  been  cut  ou+^^  of  one  of  the  bases,  and  also 
the  fountain  of  Piazza  Giudea.  The  pavement  of  the  Colonna 
gallery  has  been  inlaid  with  marble,  cut  out  of  one  piece  only  of 
the  frieze.  Such  colossal  proportions  make  clear  the  wish  of  the 
conqueror  of  Palmyra  to  give  the  Romans  a  taste  of  the  wonders 
he  had  himself  admired  in  the  East,  especially  at  Heliopolis, 
where  stones  60  feet  long  and  13  thick  were  raised  to  a  height  of 
21  feet  at  the  northwest  cornier  of  the  platform. 

Classics  and  inscriptions  give  us  very  little  information  about 
this   temple.     The   "  Vita   Aureliani "   calls   it    "  magnificentissi- 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    THE    SUN 


429 


mum,"  adding  that  the  vaults  and  crypts  of  the  temple  were  used 
for  storing  the  wine  which  some  of  the  lands  of  the  Peninsula 
were  wont  to  send  to  Rome  as  a  "  contribution  en  natiu'e  "  to  the 
treasury.  This  is  an  instance  of  the  practical  good  sense  of  the 
Romans,  which  enabled  them  to  seize  every  opportunity  offered  by 
edifices  of  this  kind,  and  to  turn  such  buildings  as  were  ostensibly 
erected  for  the  purpose  of  display  to  very  practical  purposes. 

The  destruction  of  the  temple  began  at  a  very  early  age,  if  it 
is  true  that  eight  of  the  porphyry  pillars  used  by  Justinian  in  the 


Pig.  166.  —  The  Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Sixteenth  Century. 


decoration  of  S.  Sophia  were  removed  from  it.  Towards  the  end 
of  the  Middle  Ages  we  find  it  already  reduced  to  the  state  shown 
in  this  view  of  1575  by  Etienne  du  Perac  (Fig.  166).  The  ruin, 
crowned  by  a  battlemented  tower,  was  called  "  Torre  Mesa,"  or 
"  Torre  di  Mecenate,"  and  more  commonly  the  "  Frontispizio  di  Ne- 
rone,"  and  formed  part  of  the  fortified  inclosure  of  the  Colonnas. 
It  consisted  of  a  portion  of  the  cella,  built  of  blocks  of  peperino, 
and  of  the  right  corner  of  the  pediment,  the  same  which  is  now 
lying  in  the  Colonna  gardens.     The  Torre  Mesa  was  still  standing 


430  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM  XIV 

in  1616,  when  A16  Giovannoli  made  another  —  and  the  last  known 
—  sketch  of  it.     It  disappeared  at  the  time  of  Urban  VIII. 

The  destruction  of  the  substructures  of  the  tem2:)le  began  in 
January,  1549,  and  lasted  at  least  up  to  February,  1555.  In  the 
first  period  of  the  works  search  was  made  for  marbles  alone. 
A  regular  lease  had  been  signed  between  the  Princess  Giulia 
Colonna  and  the  representatives  of  Pope  Paul  III.,  then  engaged 
in  finishing  the  Palazzo  Farnese.  From  January  2  to  November 
9,  1549,  4131  scudi  were  spent  simply  in  wages  of  men  employed 
in  the  work  of  destruction.  After  the  death  of  Paul  III.,  Prince 
Ascanio  Colonna  made  a  present  of  what  was  left  of  the  Temple 
to  Julius  III.,  then  engaged  in  building  his  Villa  Giulia.  For 
three  consecutive  years  hundreds  of  cartloads  of  stone  ^Yere  re- 
moved every  month  from  the  Colonna  gardens.  Besides  the 
Palazzo  Farnese  and  the  Villa  Giulia,  the  Cesi  chapel  in  S.  Maria 
Maggiore  had  its  share  of  the  spoils.  Sixtus  V.  began  in  1587  the 
destruction  of  the  platform  of  concrete  upon  which  the  temple 
rested;  Innocent  XIII.  in  1722,  Pius  IX.  in  1866,  and  the  muni- 
cipality of  Rome  in  1878  blew  up  the  rest  to  make  room  for  the 
pontifical  stables,  for  the  new  Salita  della  Dateria,  and  for 
the  new  Via  del  Quirinale.  On  this  last  occasion  some  crypts 
were  discovered  with  Greek  and  Palmyrene  inscriptions  written 
with  charcoal  or  red  chalk  on  the  white  plaster  of  their  walls. 
These  interesting  recollections  of  Queen  Zenobia's  fate  are  now 
exljibited  in  Hall  VI.  of  the  Museo  Municipale  al  Celio. 

The  marble  steps  of  the  great  staircase  w'ere  removed  to  the 
Aracoeli  in  1348  by  Lorenzo  di  Simone  Andreozzo.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  facts  connected  with  this  temple  is  the  respect 
shown  by  the  semi-barbarian  Romans  of  the  INIiddle  Ages  for 
some  works  of  statuary  which  adorned  the  steps  in  front  of  the 
propylaia.  This  museum  of  marbles,  which  may  well  compare 
with  the  museum  of  bronzes  at  the  Lateran,  comprised  the  two 
incomparable  groups  representing  the  Dioscuri  in  the  act  of  mak- 
ing their  fiery  steeds  feel  the  power  of  the  bridle,  now  in  front  of 
the  Royal  Palace ;  the  two  River  Gods  now  in  the  Piazza  del 
Campidoglio ;  and  a  figure  of  Rome  seated  on  the  throne,  which 
was  bought  by  Cardinal  d'  Este.  Later  on  the  three  statues  of  the 
Constantines,  now  in  the  Piazza  del  Campidoglio  and  in  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  Lateran,  were  added  to  this  popi;lar  collection. 

The  following  reproduction  of  an  engraving  by  Lafrery,  dated 
1546,  shows  how  the  Dioscuri  were  then  placed,  and  what  dam- 
ages they  had  suffered  in  the  course  of  centuries.     Sixtus  V.  and 


432  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

Domenico  Fontana  removed  them  to  tlieir  present  position,  after 
horsemen  and  steeds  had  undergone  a  thorough  restoration.  Ber- 
tolotti  has  published  an  account  of  the  work  full  of  useful  infor- 
mation.    It  cost  2334  scudi. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  i'-^,  p.  324;  and  vol.  vi.  n.  726. —  Flaminio 
Vacca,  Mem.,  40,  78,  88,  in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i. — Francesco  Ficoroni, 
Mem.,  115,  ibid.  —  Notizie  Scavi,  1878,  p.  309.  —  A.  Bertolotti,  Artisti 
lombardi  a  Roma,  vol.  i.  p.  75.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  Rheinischen  Aluseuiii  f. 
Philologie,  1894,  p.  392;  and  Bull,  com.,  1895,  p.  39.  — Kodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull, 
com.,  1894,  p.  297;  and  1895,  p.  94. 

XXXII.  Therms  Diocletian^e,  built  by  Diocletian  and 
Maximian,  and  opened  a.  d.  306,  i  after  their  abdication  from  the 
throne.  According  to  Olympiodorus,  they  contained  about  3000 
marble  basins,  besides  a  swimming  piscina  of  2400  square  metres. 
They  contained  also  a  library,  the  Bibliotheca  Ulpia,  removed 
from  the  Forum  of  Trajan,  gardens,  gymnasia,  and  club-rooms. 
Together  they  covered  an  area  of  130,000  square  metres.  The  ex- 
cavations made  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  for  the  building  of  the 
railway  station,  of  the  Grand  Hotel,  of  the  Massimi  palace,  for  the 
opening  of  new  streets,  and  for  the  laying  out  of  new  gardens 
have  enabled  us  to  find  out  the  names  and  the  plans  of  some  of 
the  edifices  destroyed  by  the  two  Emperors  to  obtain  a  site  for  the 
baths.  Amongst  them  are  the  offices  of  a  Collegium  Foi'tunse 
Felicis,  a  temple  built  on  foundations  of  conci'ete ;  a  portico  or  a 
shrine,  rebuilt  once  by  one  of  the  Valerii  Messallte  and  again  by 
Cn.  Sentius  Saturninus ;  pavements  of  streets ;  walls  of  private 
houses ;  and  pieces  of  the  largest  and  longest  water-pipe  ever 
found  in  Rome.  It  went  fi'om  the  Porta  Viminalis  to  the  Alta 
Semita,  and  through  the  Alta  Semita  to  the  Forum  of  Trajan. 
The  tube,  made  of  sheets  of  lead  three  centimetres  thick,  is  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  and  of  Petronius  Sura,  his 
procurator  aquarum.  The  tube  was  at  least  1750  metres  long,  and 
as  it  weighs  132  kilogrammes  and  74.5  grammes  for  each  metre, 
231  tons,  at  least,  of  metal  must  have  been  used  in  its  construction. 

Inscriptions  placed  above  the  four  principal  gates  described  and 
praised  the  great  work  of  Diocletian  and  of  his  colleague.  The 
fate  of  these  historic  documents  is  truly  remarkable  :  pieces  of 
them  have  been  found  at  various  times  in  the  Certosa,  at  S. 
Antonio  on  the  Esquiline,  at  S.  Alessio  on  the  Aventine,  at  the 
Monte  della  Giustizia,  in  the  foundations  of  the  Treasury  buildings, 

1  Between  May  1,  305,  and  July  24,  300. 


THE   BATHS    OF  DIOCLETIAX  433 

and  in  the  Via  Principe  Umberto.  The  last  piece  came  to  light 
in  June,  1890,  from  the  foundations  of  the  Grand  Hotel.  The 
history  of  the  baths  is  not  known.  Probably  they  suffered 
damage  during  the  sack  of  Alaric,  because  a  fragmentary  inscrip- 
tion seen  by  Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  on  the  spot  (about  1495) 
speaks  of  repairs  made  in  the  course  of  the  fifth  century.  They 
were  still  in  use  under  King  Theodoric ;  the  collapse  of  the 
Marcian  aqueduct  must  have  soon  brought  about  their  abandon- 
ment. The  compiler  of  the  "  Itinerary  of  Eiusiedlen  "  saw  one  of 
the  great  inscriptions  still  fixed  above  one  of  the  gates.  In  the 
year  1091  Pope  Urban  II.  made  a  present  of  the  ruins  to  S.  Bruno 
and  to  Gavin,  his  friend,  for  the  establishment  of  a  Carthusian 
brotherhood.  In  1450  Giovanni  Ruccellai  saw  a  great  many 
columns  of  white  or  colored  marble  standing  on  their  bases  and 
crowned  by  finely  cut  entablatures.  Francesco  Albertino  mentions 
the  first  discoveries  of  statues  and  pedestals  made  under  Julius  11. 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Jean  du  Bellay, 
ambassador  of  Francis  I.,  created  cardinal  by  Pope  Paul  III.  in 
1533,  purchased  the  greater  portion  of  the  baths  and  laid  out 
gardens  among  their  picturesque  ruins,  known  by  the  name  of 
Horti  Belleiani  ;  at  his  death,  however,  in  1560,  creditors  seized 
the  estate  and  divided  it  among  themselves.  The  Horti  Belleiani 
fell  to  the  lot  of  S.  Carlo  Borromeo,  who  sold  them  in  his  turn  to 
his  uncle  Pope  Pius  IV.  This  pope  took  up  the  old  project  of 
Urban  II.  for  the  transformation  of  the  baths  into  a  Certosa,  and 
of  their  tepidarium  into  a  magnificent  church.  His  bull  of  grant 
to  the  monks  of  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  is  dated  July  27,  1561, 
and  says  among  other  things  that  the  malaria  raged  so  virulently 
at  S.  Croce  that  the  abbot  and  his  flock  were  in  constant  danger 
of  life.  The  work  of  transformation,  begun  on  April  24,  1563,  and 
finished  on  June  5,  1566,  cost  17,492  scudi.  The  state  of  the 
tepidarium,  when  Michelangelo  entered  it  for  the  first  time,  is 
shown  in  the  following  sketch  made  by  a  contemporary  artist.  ^ 
Michelangelo  converted  the  great  hall  into  a  Greek  cross  by  adding 
to  it  the  present  vestibule  and  the  choir,  the  entrance  being  from 

1  Photographed  by  Miss  Dora  Biihver  from  f.  90  of  the  sketch-book  of  an 
unknown  artist,  now  in  the  library  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge  (marked  R, 
17,  3*).  There  are  other  valuable  sketches  by  Du  Ferae  (/  Vestif/i,  f.  30); 
Dosio  {u'EdiJi riorum  reliqin'w,  44,  45,  46;  and  UJfizi,  74,  76,  79,  2573);  .Jean 
Vander  Wylt,  in  the  Laing  collection,  Edinburgh;  Lafrery  (plate  not  num- 
bered; very  scarce;  a  copy  in  the  Cabinet  des  Estampes).  Volume  "Rome, 
rione  Monti  A,"  of  the  same  Cabinet  des  Estampes  contains  72  views  of  the 
baths. 


434  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

the  southeast  side,  opposite  the  present  railway  station.  Vanvitelli 
changed  Michelangelo's  plan :  the  nave  was  converted  into  a 
transept,  and  a  new  entrance  made  from  the  present  Piazza  di 
Termini.  To  avoid  damp  Michelangelo  raised  the  low-lying  pave- 
ment by  three  feet,  so  that  the  original  bases  of  the  columns  re- 
main bui'ied  to  that  depth.  Of  the  sixteen  columns  of  the  church, 
the  eight  in  the  transept  are  antique,  of  red  granite  and  of  won- 
derful size.  Those  of  the  nave,  of  bricks,  covered  with  painted 
stucco  in  imitation  of  granite,  are  an  addition  of  1740.  One  of 
the  marble  capitals  comes  from  the  temple  of  Claudius  on  the 
Cselian. 

No   discoveries  seem  to  have  been  made  in  the  course  of  the 
works :  that  of  a  bell  with  the  name  "  Firnii  Balneatoris  "  is  said 


Fig.  168.  —  The  Tepidariuin  of  the  Baths  of  Diocletian,  before  its  Transformation  iuto 
the  Church  of  S.  M.  degli  AngeH. 

by  Doni  to  have  taken  place  in  1548.  Gregory  XIII.  in  1566  trans- 
formed a  portion  of  the  baths  into  grain  stores ;  these  "  horrea 
Ecclesise  "  were  afterwards  enlarged  by  Paul  V.  in  1009,  by  Urban 
VIII.  in  1630,  and  by  Clement  XI.  in  1705. 

Sixtus  v.,  while  engaged  in  building  his  beautiful  Villa  Peretti 
Montalto,  as  a  present  to  his  sister  Donna  Camilla,  destroyed 
about  one  fifth  of  the  baths.  Ilis  books  of  accounts  certify  that 
between  May  16,  1586,  and  May  15,  1589,  not  less  than  94,482 
cubic  metres  of  Diocletian's  masonry  were  demolished  witli  the 


THE   BATHS    OF   DIOCLETIAN  435 

help  of  gunpowder.  About  the  same  time  Fhimiiiio  Vacca  registers 
the  discovery  of  eighteen  busts  of  "  philosophers,"  sold  first  to 
Giuliano  Cesarini,  and  by  him  to  Cardinal  Alessandro  Faruese. 
They  are  now  at  Naples. 

In  January,  1-39-1,  Caterina  Sforza,  Countess  of  Santafiora,  con- 
verted into  a  church  and  presented  to  the  Cistercians  the  circular 
hall  which  foi-nied  the  southwest  corner  of  the  outer  circuit  of  the 
baths  (S.  Bernardo).  In  cleaning  the  cellars  of  their  new  abode 
the  monks  found  great  masses  of  lead,  which,  made  into  sheets, 
were  sufficient  to  cover  the  whole  dome  of  the  rotunda.  The  fresco 
paintings  of  the  same  hall  were  whitewashed  on  account  of  their 
profane  character. 

No  works  of  art  of  anj^  consequence  have  been  found  in  these 
baths,  except,  perhaps,  a  headless  athletic  statue,  which  appears  in 
Lafrery's  engraving,  and  a  beautiful  head  of  Venus  discovered  in 
January,  180.5,  by  Petrini. 

The  present  generation  has  not  treated  the  remains  of  the  thermae 
kindly.  A  wide  street,  the  Via  Cernaia,  has  been  cut  right  through 
the  halls  on  the  left  of  the  tepidarium;  a  tunnel  bored  diagonally 
across  the  rectangle  to  convey  the  Acqua  Felice  to  the  Fountain  of 
Moses ;  other  halls  destroyed  in  building  the  approaches  to  the 
railway  station,  the  Massimi  Palace,  the  Treasury,  and  the  Grand 
Hotel.  The  only  redeeming  point  is  the  transformation  of  ^lichel- 
angelo's  portico  into  a  museum  in  which  objects  of  art  and  antiqui- 
ties, discovered  on  government  land  and  in  government  works,  are 
exhibited.  (See  Helbig's  Guide,  vol.  ii.  p.  188,  n.  961-1108.)  The 
famous  group  of  cypresses  which  shaded  the  fountain  in  the  centre 
of  the  quadrangle  was  half  destroyed  h\  a  tornado  in  the  summer 
of  1886.  The  noble  trees  contemporary  with  the  foundations  of 
the  Certosa  ai'e  represented  in  the  following  illustration  (Fig.  169), 
from  a  photograph  taken  in  1874. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  fnscr.,  vol.  vi.  ii.  1124,  1130,  1131,  1131%  31,242.— 
Ridoltiiio  Yemiti,  Antickita  cU  Roma,  vol.  i.  p.  168.  —  Beschreibung,  vol.  iii-,  p. 
331.  —  Tlieodor  Mommseu,  Archceol.  Zeituiuj,  1846,  p.  229.  —  Angelo  Pellegrini, 
BUsertazione  suUe  rorine  delle  ternie  diocleziane  (in  Buonarroti,  serie  ii.  vol. 
xi.  August,  ISld).— BuU.com.,  vol.  viii.  1880,  p.  132.  —  Nothie  Scavi,  1886,  p. 
36;  1890,  pp.185,  21.5.  —  Paiilin,  Restauratioii  chs  thermes  de  Diocletien.  Paris, 
1890.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  Rhelnhche  Muaeum  f.  Philologie,  1894,  p.  388. — 
Rodolfo  Lanciani,  /  comentarii  di  Frontlno,  p.  96;  and  Forma  Urbis,  sheets  n. 
X.,  xvii.  —  Henry  de  (Jeymuller,  Documents  inedits  sur  les  .  .  .  thermes  de 
Diocletien.     Lausanne,  1883. 

The  designs,  sketches,  and  plans  of  artists  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  are  innumerable.     The  best  set,  by  far,  is  to 


436 


URBS   SACRA   REGION  UM  XIV 


be  found  in  a  portfolio  of  drawings,  formerly  in  the  possession  of 
the  architect  Destailleurs,  Paris,  and  now  in  the  Kunstgewerbe 
Musenm,  Berlin  (f.  A,  377).  The  name  of  the  artist  (French)  is 
not  known.     Cardinal  Perrenot  de  Granvelle  employed  Sebastian 


THE   PRAETORIAN   CAMP  437 

de  Oya,  a  Flemish  architect,  to  design  the  baths,  and  his  dravings 
were  engraved  on  twenty-six  copper  plates  by  James  Cock  of  Ant- 
werp.    The  edition,  dated  1558,  has  become  very  rare. 

XXXIII.  Castra  Pretoria  (fortified  barracks  of  the  Praeto- 
rian guard).  —  The  name  jjrcetorium,  used  in  a  military  sense, 
signifies  the  "  commando,"  the  headquarters,  whether  of  a  general 
commander-in-cliief  or  of  the  Emperor  himself.  When  Augustus 
reorganized  the  Roman  army  and  navy,  the  legions  and  the  auxil- 
iary forces  were  quartered  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Empire,  the  fleet 
stationed  partly  at  Misenum,  partly  at  Ravenna,  while  Rome  and 
his  own  person  were  intrusted  to  the  protection  of  two  or  three 
thousand  picked  men,  quartered  in  various  districts  of  the  city  and 
of  the  suburbs,  not  in  military  barracks,  but  in  houses  of  peaceful 
aspect  —  "  nunquam  plui-es  quam  tres  cohortes  in  urbe  esse  passus 
est,  eaque  sine  castris  "  (Sueton.,  Octav.,  49).  After  the  death  of 
Augustus,  Tiberius  changed  tactics  at  once,  hardly  appearing  in 
public  without  an  escort ;  and,  with  the  excuse  of  keeping  the 
Praetorians  in  stricter  discipline,  "  procul  urbis  inlecebris,"  away 
from  the  seduction  and  corruption  of  the  city,  he  built  magnificent 
barracks  in  a  field  between  the  Via  Nomentana  and  the  Via  Tibur- 
tina,  in  imitation  of  a  Roman  fortified  camp.  This  was  done  in 
A.  i>.  2o,  on  the  suggestion  of  Sejanus,  then  prefect  of  police.  The 
chief  power  in  the  Roman  state  was  thus  placed  practically  in  the 
hands  of  the  Prjetorians,  and  "  the  readers  of  the  historians  of  the 
Emjaire  will  recall  the  many  vivid  pictures  of  their  rapacity  and 
violence.  To  go  to  the  Prfetorian  camp  and  promise  a  largess  to 
the  guards  was  the  first  duty  of  a  Roman  Emperor."  "  Here  oc- 
curred that  memorable  and  most  melancholy  scene  in  Roman  his- 
tory, when  the  Praetorians  shut  themselves  within  their  camp  after 
the  murder  of  Pertinax  and  put  up  the  throne  to  auction.  Julian 
and  Sulpicianus  .  .  .  bid  one  against  the  other,  and  at  last  they 
ran  n\)  the  \>v\ce  little  by  little  to  5000  drachmas  to  each  soldier. 
Julian  then  impatiently  outbid  his  rival  by  offering  at  once  6250, 
and  the  Empire  was  knocked  down  to  him.  This  was  not  by  any 
means  the  first  or  only  time  that  its  fate  had  been  decided  here." ' 

The  Pra?torians  furnished  the  guard  of  honor  at  the  gates  of  the 
Imperial  residence,  on  which  occasions  they  wore  the  toga  instead 
of  the  ordinary  sagum.  Their  supreme  commander  was,  of  course, 
the  Emperor,  but  practically  they  were  under  the  rule  of  one  or 
more  "  prsefecti  praetorio."  The  number  of  their  cohorts  varied 
1  See  Burn,  Ancient  Rome,  London,  1895,  p.  189. 


438 


URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM  XIV 


from  a  maximum  of  sixteen  under  Vitellius  to  a  minimum  of  nine 
under  Vespasian  ;  tliey  were  cohortes  milliariae  equitatse,  viz.,  1000 
men  strong,  with  a  squadron  of  cavalry  each.  Their  term  of  ser- 
vice lasted  sixteen  years ;  their  pay  was  about  720  denarii  a  year. 


THE   PR.ETORfAX    CAMP 


439 


The  Praetorians  were  recruited  from  volunteers  from  the  more 
civilized  provinces  of  the  Empire ;  but  Septimius  Severus  having 
dissolved  the  corps  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  to  reorganize  it 
under  a  different  system,  the  men  were  recruited  henceforth  from 
the  most  tried  and  trustworthy  barbarians,  and  Rome  was  thus 
iilled  with  bands  of  savage-looking  Prsetorians,  sj^eaking  unknown 
languages,  and  of  uncouth  and  barbarous  manners. 

Under  Maximus  and  Balbinus,  the  citizens  tried  to  put  down 


Fig.  171.  — The  Walls  of  the  Prsetorian  Camp,  with  Aurelian's  Super-structure. 


their  violence  l)y  cutting  the  water-pii)es  wliicli  supplied  the  castra 
from  the  reservoir  by  the  Porta  Viminalis,  and  thus  to  subjugate 
them  by  water  famine.  Aurelian  and  ['rol)us  included  in  their  line 
of  fortifications  the  north,  east,  and  south  side  of  the  rectangle, 
and  raised  the  height  of  the  walls  by  ten  to  fifteen  feet.  The  line 
of  separation  between  the  original  walls,  which  were  battlemented, 
and  Aurelian's  superstructure  can  still  be  traced  on  the  north  side. 
(See  Fig.  171.) 

The  Prfetorians  were  finally  suppressed  in  312  by  Constantine, 
who  caused  the  front  or  western  wall  of  the  camp  to  be  demol- 
ished. 

The  cam]"*  is  nearly  square,  being  4o0  metres  wide  by  o71  deep. 
It  was  approached  by  a  triumphal  arch,  —  dedicated,  it  appears,  to 


440 


URBS    SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


Gordiauus  the  younger,  and  to  his  EnipreHS  Tranqnillina,  —  splen- 
did remains  of  which  have  been  found  on  three  occasions :  first  in 
1495,  when  Bramante  was  searching  for  marbles  for  the  decoration 
of  the  Palazzo  della  Cancelleria,  belonging  to  Cardinal  Raifaele 
Riario  ;  then  in  1873,  when  the  workshop  was  discovered  in  which 
the  spoils  of  the  arch  were  adapted  to  their  new  purpose  (Via 
Gaeta,  near  the  Villino  della  Somaglia)  ;  and  again,  in  the  winter 
of  1886-87,  in  the  foundations  of  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the 
Via  Solferino  and  the  Viale  Castro  Pretorio.  This  last  discovery 
took  place  while  I  was  away  from  Rome  on  long  leave.  I  am  told 
that  the  winged  Victory  represented  in  the  following  cut,  now  in 
Copenhagen,  was  found  on  this  occasion.  It  belongs  to  the  left 
spandril  above  the  middle  archway. 


Fig.  172.  —  One  of  the  Victories  from  the  Arch  of  Gordianus  III. 


THE  PLAIN  ON  THE  LEFT  BANK  OF  THE  TIBER. 


Kegio  IX.     The  C.vmpus  Mautius  and  the  Circus  Flaminius. 

XXXIV.  The  plain  which  extends  from  the  foot  of  the  Pincian, 
Quirinal,  and  Capitoline  hills  to  the  left  bank  of  the  river  was  not 
changed  from  a  grassy  swamp  into  a  region  of  architectural  won- 
ders by  one  man  or  at  one  time.  The  transformation  was  the 
work  of  centuries,  and  the  result  of  the  combined  efforts  of  wealthy 
citizens  and  of  enterprising  Emperors,  from  the  time  of  Pompey 
the  Great  to  that  of  Severus  Alexander.     The  architectural  de- 


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THE    CAMPUS   MARTIUS 


441 


velopment  of  the  Campus  Martins,  moreover,  did  not  proceed  at 
random,  but  by  zones  or  districts,  which  follow  each  other  in  chro- 
nological order;  and  each  of  these  groups  was  designed  by  one 
man  according  to  his  own  piano  regolatore,  and  generally  with  a 
different  orientation  from  that  of  the  neighboring  districts.  The 
fundamental  lines  for  such  orientation  are  the  Via  Flaminia 
(Corso)  running  16°  30'  west  of  the  meridian ;  the  Via  Recta 
(Acquasanta,  Coppelle,  S.  Agostino,  Coronari),  which  runs  due 
west;  and  a  third  street,  name  unknown  (vie  di  Pescheria,  del 
Pianto,  de'  Giubbonari,  de'  Cappellari),  which  runs  from  southeast 
to  northwest.  For  a  long  time  the  natural  aspect  of  the  Campus 
Martius  was  not  altered :  the  river  Petronia  continued  to  flow 
towards  the  "  Goat's  Pond "  (Caprce  palus),  not  yet  transformed 
into  the  "  Stagnum  Agi-ij^pae."  Romans  and  foreigners  continued 
to  seek  health  at  the  springs  of  the  Tarentum,  not  yet  cU'awn  into 
a  canal  around  the  Ara  Ditis  et  Proserpinai ;  the  youth  continued 
to  race  in  the  Trigarium,  to  bathe  in  the  Tiber,  to  hold  athletic 
sports  in  the  Campus  Martius,  and  to  enjoy  the  shades  of  the 
vEsculetum. 

The  first  impulse  towards  the  transformation  of  the  Campus 
was  given  by  C.  Flaminius,  censor  in  2'20,  by  the  erection  of  a 
circus,  and  by  the  opening  of  the  Via  Flaminia.  The  Flaminian 
group,  otherwise  called  "  Ad  Cii'cum  "  or  "  In  Circo,"  comprises 
the  following  structures  :  — 


Circus  Flaminius. 

(Stabula  fjuatiior  Factioiium  vi.) 

Columna  bellica. 

iEdes  Bellonaj  Pulvinensis. 

iEdes  Martis. 


^des  Kastoris. 

^des  Pietatis. 

^des  Volkani. 

^des  Herculis  Magni  Custodis 

Via  Flaminia. 


A  commercial  quarter  had  been  formed  in  the  meantime  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  plain,  near  the  cattle  and  vegetable  markets, 
the  wharves  of  the  Tiber,  and  the  bridges  (Sublician,  .Emilian, 
Fabrician,  Caestiau)  through  which  provisions  were  brought  in 
from  the  Etruscan  or  transtiberine  orchards  and  farms.  The 
group  of  the  Forum  Holitorium  comprised  in  due  time  — 


Forum  Holitorium. 
(Porticus)Minucias  duas,  Veterem 

et  Frumentariam. 
Porticus  usque  ad  Elephantum. 


iEdes  Spei. 
^des  Pietatis. 
yEdes  lunonis. 
iEdes  lani. 


The  building  over  of  the  plain,  in  accordance  with  a  carefully 
studied  project,  began  in  the  last  century  of  the  Republic,  and  was 


442 


URBS    SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


the  joint  work  of  Julius  Caesar  and  Pompey  the  Great.  Caesar 
had  planned  to  divert  the  course  of  the  Tiber  along  the  foot  of  the 
Vatican  ridge  ("  secundum  montes  Vaticanos  "),  so  that  the  city 
could  expand  over  the  Campus  Martius,  and  to  make  a  campus  of 
the  present  "  Prati  di  Castello  "  (Cicero,  Ad  Attic,  xiii.  33) ;  but  he 
had  no  time  to  accomplish  his  scheme.  Pompey,  on  the  contrary, 
could  see  his  idea  carried  into  execution.  With  the  Pompeian 
buildings,  and  vi^ith  the  additions  made  to  them  in  later  times,  a 
third  group  is  formed,  called  "  Ad  Theatrum  Lapideum "  or 
"  Pompeianum."     It  comprises  the  — 


Theatrum  Lapideum,  with  the  Curia. 

Porticus  Pompeianse,  withtlie  Horti. 

Hecatostylon. 

^des  Veneris  Victricis. 


JSdes  Honoris,  Virtutis,  Felicitatis 
^dus  FortuniB  Equestris. 
Jides  Minervai  Campensis. 


We  come  now  to  the  age  of  Augustus.  He  may  truly  be  said  to 
have  found  this  region  built  of  bricks  and  to  have  left  it  of  marble. 
Suetonius  (Octav.,  29)  says :  "  He  was  fond  of  erecting  costly 
structures  under  the  name  of  his  wife,  of  his  sisters  and  laephews, 
like  the  Basilica  of  Caius  and  Lucius,  the  Portico  of  Livia,  that 
of  Octavia,  and  the  Theatre  of  Marcellus.  He  would  also  urge 
his  wealthy  friends  to  follow  his  example  by  raising  new  build- 
ings, or  by  repairing  and  adorning  old  ones.  His  call  was  re- 
sponded to  by  Marcius  Philippus,  who  built  the  ^des  Herculis 
Musarum  ;  by  Lucius  Cornificius,  who  rebuilt  the  Temple  of  Diana 
on  the  Aventine ;  by  Cornelius  Balbus  with  his  theatre ;  by  Sta- 
tilius  Taurus  with  his  amphitheatre.  Agrippa  surj^assed  all  of 
Ihem  in  the  number  and  greatness  of  his  constructions."  Strabo 
the  geographer  gives  the  following  account  of  the  Campus  Martius 
as  it  appeared  in  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius :  "  The 
old  Romans  were  so  bent  upon  things  and  actions  of  more  serious 
consequence  for  the  commonwealth,  that  they  paid  little  or  no  at- 
tention to  the  beauty  of  their  city ;  but  the  Romans  of  the  present 
day  .  .  .  have  filled  it  with  many  and  noble  structures.  Pompey, 
Caesar,  Augustus,  his  sons,  his  wife,  his  sister  directed  all  their 
energy  and  lavished  great  sums  of  money  on  the  purpose.  Of  this 
we  have  ample  evidence  in  the  Campus  Martius,  which,  in  addition 
to  pleasantness  of  site  and  charms  of  landscape,  has  been  vastly 
improved  by  architectural  beauty.  It  affords  at  the  same  time 
plenty  of  space  for  the  multitudes  who  gather  in  its  green  fields  to 
train  themselves  in  chariot  and  horse  races,  and  in  athletic  sports 
of  all  kinds.     The  buildings  of  white  marble,  framed  by  masses 


THE    CAMPUS    MART  I  US 


443 


of  green,  the  hills  which  inclose  the  plain  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river  delight  tlie  eyes  of  the  stranger.  There  is  another 
campus,  adjoining  the  one  called  Martius,^  containing  porticoes, 
sacred  woods,  three  theatres,  one  amphitheatre,  so  close  to  each 
other  that  it  appears  to  form  part  of  the  city  itself.  The  campus 
being  held  sacred  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens,  many  illustrious 
men  and  women  have  selected  it  for  their  last  resting-place.  Con- 
spicuous among  all  is  the  so-called  JNIausoleum,  raised  on  a  pedestal 
of  white  marble  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  shaded  by  ever- 
greens to  the  summit  of  the  mound,  where  a  bronze  statue  of  the 
founder  of  the  Empire  has  been  set  up.  His  relatives  are  buried 
in  the  crypts  below." 

Three  groups  can  be  formed  of  the  works  of  the  Augustan  and 
Tiberian  age.     The  first,  or  Augustan,  comprises  the  — 


Ara  Fortune  reducis. 

Ara  Pacis  Augustiv. 

Solarium  or  Hurrildgium. 

Ustrinum. 

Mausoleum. 

SilvaB  et  Ainbulationes. 


Ripa>  Tiberis. 

Porticus  ad  Nationes. 

Porticus  Oetaviie. 

Porticus  Corinthia  Cnei  Ootavii. 

Tlu'atrum  iNIarcelli. 


The  second,  or  Agrippianum.  extended  from  the  foot  of  tlie 
hills,  by  Capo  le  Case,  to  the  Ponte  Sisto.  The  INIonumenta 
Agrippse  are  — 


Porticus  Pollaj  or  P.  Vipsaiiia. 

Campus  Agrippas. 

Diribitorium. 

Ductus  et  Laciis  Virginis. 

(^des  Juturme.) 

Pantheum. 

Thermte. 

Stagnum,  witli  the  Euripus;. 


Porticus  Eventus  Boui. 
Horti. 

(  Neptunium. 

\  Porticus  Argonautarum. 
Swpta  lulia. 
Villa  publica. 
Pons  Agripp*. 
CloacEB. 


The  third  group  may  be  called  the  '•  Spectacular  Buildings  " 
raised  by  Augustus,  and  by  his  friends  and  successors.  It  com- 
prises the  — 


Theatrum  Marcelli. 
Theatrum  Balbi. 
Crypt  a  Balbi. 


Ampliit  boat  rum  Tauri. 

Stadium. 

Odeum. 


Xo  otlier  constructions  by  zones  or  districts  are  recorded  for  the 
1  Strabii  means  the  Prata  Flaminia,  at  the  south  end  of  the  plain. 


444 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


space  of  over  a  century.  Tiberius  repaired  the  scene  of  Pompey's 
theatre  ;  Claudius  the  aqueduct  of  the  Aqua  Virgo.  Nero  built 
other  great  baths  near  those  of  Agrippa.  In  the  conflagration  of 
July,  65,  the  flames  avoided,  or  vi^ere  made  to  avoid,  the  Campus 
Martins,  probably  to  save  the  newly  built  thermae  of  Nero,  so  that 
the  homeless  inultitudes  could  find  shelter  in  the  Monumenta 
Agrippae.  However,  in  the  last  days  the  fire  got  the  better  of 
those  trying  to  keep  it  within  the  prescribed  limits,  and  consumed 
some  of  the  porticoes  and  gardens  (porticus  amoenitati  dicatae), 
some  of  the  temples,  the  iEmilian  gardens  of  Tigellinus  (praedia 
^miliana  Tigellini),  and  the  Statilian  amphitheatre. ^ 

The  fire  of  Titus,  a.  d.  80,  damaged  considerably  the  Diribi- 
torium,  the  portico  of  Octavia,  the  Temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis,  the 
Saepta  lulia,  the  Admiralty  (Neptunium),  the  Baths  of  Agrippa, 
the  Pantheon,  and,  of  course,  the  public  and  private  buildings  of 
secondary  importance  wedged  in  among  the  great  ones.  Some  of 
them,  like  the  Diribitorium,  were  abandoned  forever ;  others  re- 
paired by  Domitian  (the  Temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis,  the  Pantheon, 
the  Porticus  Minucia  Vetus,  the  Minervium  of  Pompey  the  Great), 
who  added  "  de  proprio  "  an  odeum  and  a  stadium ;  others  re- 
paired by  Hadrian  (many  temples,  the  Sa?pta  lulia,  the  Thermae 
Agrippiana?,  and  again  the  Pantheon  and  the  Admiralty),  who 
added  also  "  de  suo "  a  temple  in  honor  of  Marciana,  sister  of 
Trajan,  and  of  Matidia  his  mother-in-law ;  others  finally  repaired 
more  than  a  century  later  (?)  by  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla, 
like  the  scene  of  Pompey's  theatre,  the  portico  and  the  libraries  of 
Octavia,  and  probably  the  theatre  and  the  crypta  of  Balbus. 

The  district  on  the  left  of  the  Flaminia,  between  the  "  zone  "  of 
Augustus  (Via  in  Lucina)  and  that  of  Agrippa  (Piazza  di  Pietra), 
had  been  occupied  in  the  meantime  by  the  Antonines.  This 
group,  which  we  may  call  Antoninianum,  comprises  the  — 


(So-called)  Arch  of  M.  Aurelius  and 

L.  Verus. 
Columna    centenaria    divi     Marci, 

with  the  Hospitium  of  its  kee-per 

Adrastus. 


Templum  Antonini. 

Columna  divi  Pii. 

Ustrinum  et  Ara  Antoninorum. 


If  we  take  into  consideration  the  object  of  some  of  the  build- 
ings mentioned  above,  instead  of  the   name  and   epoch  of  those 
who  raised  tliem,  and  the  age  to  which  they  belong,  we  can  make 
up  a  last  and  most  important  group,  the  group  of  the  Porticoes, 
1  Tacitus,  Ann.,  xv.  40.     Dion  Cassius,  ///.«/.,  Ixii.  18. 


THE    CAMPUS   MART  I  US  445 

under  the  shelter  of  wliich  it  was  possible  to  cross  the  plain  from 
one  end  to  the  other. 

Under  the  Republic  they  were  comparatively  rare,  and  the  few 
that  existed  at  that  time  were  built  not  as  places  of  pleasant  resort, 
but  with  a  definite  and  more  practical  aim.  The  Minucia  served 
for  the  distribution  of  grain ;  the  Emilia  for  the  storage  of 
merchandise  brought  by  river  and  by  sea;  those  of  the  Forum 
Ilolitorium  as  a  vegetable  market ;  the  Porticus  Pompeian?e  as  a 
place  of  refuge  in  case  of  rain.  Augustus  made  porticoes  popular  ; 
under  his  rule  the  whole  campus  was  covered  with  colonnades. 
lie  himself  built  that  of  Octavia,  and  a  second  called  Ad  Xationes 
on  account  of  some  colossal  statues,  representing  the  nations  of 
the  world,  and  rebuilt  a  third,  named  Corinthian  from  the  capi- 
tals of  its  columns,  cast  in  (gilt)  Corinthian  brass.  Balbus  added 
a  crypta  to  his  theatre ;  JMarcius  Philippus  surrounded  with  a  por- 
tico the  Templum  Hercidis  Musarum.  To  Agrippa  the  Romans 
owed  the  Porticus  Vijisania,  the  Sajpta,  used  for  electoral  meetings 
under  shelter,  the  Villa  Publica,  the  Porticus  Argonautarum,  the 
Porticus  Eventus  Boni  (and  the  Porticus  Europas  ?).  The  example 
set  by  Augustus  and  his  courtiers  found  imitators  down  to  the 
very  fall  of  the  Empire,  and  even  after  it,  as  shown  by  the  Horti 
Largiani,  the  Portico  of  Constantine,  the  Porticus  Maximse  of 
Gratian,  Valentinian,  and  Theodosius,  and  lastly  by  those  which 
led  from  the  ^Elian  bridge  to  S.  Peter's,  from  the  Porta  Ostiensis 
to  S.  Paul's  (and  from  the  Porta  Tiburtina  to  S.  Lorenzo). 

No  attention  has  been  paid  by  topographers  to  the  special 
nature  of  these  structures ;  they  have  been  studied  individually, 
as  simple  inclosures  of  temples,  annexes  to  theatres,  picture- 
galleries,  museums  of  statuary,  and  places  of  meeting  and  resort  ; 
but  if  we  consider  them  as  successive  manifestations  of  the  same 
original  plan,  and  part  of  a  whole  system,  their  importance 
increases  tenfold.  They  were  designed  so  that  the  citizens  could 
walk  in  every  season  and  at  any  hour  under  shelter  from  wind, 
rain,  cold,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Needless  to  say  this  happened 
after  the  taste  for  luxury  and  comfort  had  superseded  the  previous 
austerity  of  Roman  life.  Whenever  the  poets,  and  Martial  espe- 
cially, speak  of  the  porticoes,  they  allude  to  one  idea,  to  the  delight 
of  enjoying  there  the  warmth  of  sunshine  in  winter  while  out- 
siders were  shivering  from  the  blasts  of  the  tramontana.  The 
spaces  between  the  colonnades  were  intersected  in  graceful  designs 
by  the  tppida  huxeta,  walls  of  boxwood.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  Empire  it   became  possible   to  walk  under  shelter  from  the 


446  URB8   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

region  of  the  Fora  to  the  church  of  S.  Peter,  a  distance  of  nearly 
two  miles  ;  and  the  sight  would  have  struck  the  least  enthusiastic 
person  in  the  world  with  wonder.  The  development  of  the  twelve 
larger  colonnades  of  the  Campus  Martius  amounts  to  4600  metres ; 
the  sheltered  surface  to  28,000  square  metres ;  the  total  area, 
central  gardens  included,  to  100,000 ;  the  number  of  columns  was 
about  2000. 

These  columns  were  of  the  rarest  kinds  of  marble.  Tlieir 
capitals  were  sometimes  of  gilt  Corinthian  metal,  and  their  pave- 
ments were  inlaid  with  jasper  and  porphyry.  Each  portico  con- 
tained a  museum  of  sculpture  and  a  gallery  of  pictures,  and  the 
space  inclosed  by  them  was  laid  out  in  gardens,  with  thickets  of 
box,  myrtle,  laurel,  arbutus,  pine,  and  plane  trees  shading  lakes, 
fountains,  and  waterfalls.  Each  one  offered  to  the  visitor  a  special 
attraction.  In  the  Porticus  Vipsania  the  maps  of  the  Roman 
world  surveyed  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  our  Lord  were  displayed. 
The  Sispta  contained  curiosity-shops,  where  antiquities  and  manu- 
factures of  the  Far  East,  China  included,  were  exhibited.  Lastly, 
in  the  portico  of  Philippus  ladies  could  find  the  latest  fashions  in 
wigs  and  hair  dressing  that  the  fancy  of  Roman  coiffeurs  could 
contrive. 

Literature.  — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Ipoiiic!  della  rec/ione  ix.  (in  Ann.  Inst., 
1883,  pis.  A,  b).  Ancient  Rome,  p.  94.  —  Lnigi  Borsari,  Sui]}ortici  delta  regione 
vii.  (in  Bull,  com.,  1887,  p.  141).  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma,  p.  33. 

My  description  of  the  existing  remains  of  the  ninth  region  will 
follow  the  division  by  chronological  zones  or  groups,  in  this  order  : 
(a)  Monuments  illustrating  the  original  state  of  the  Campus 
Martius ;  (b)  Monuments  ad  Circum  (Flaminium) ;  (c)  Monu- 
ments ad  Forum  Holitorium  ;  (c/)  Monuments  ad  Theatrum  Lapi- 
deum  (Pompeianum)  ;  (e)  The  Augustan  Group ;  (/)  The  Monu- 
menta  Agrippse ;  (y)  The  Spectacular  Buildings;  (h)  The  group 
of  the  Antonines  ;   (/)  The  Porticoes. 

A.    Monuments   Illustrating    the   Original   State  of   the  Campus 

Martius. 

XXXV.  The  Tarentum.  —  In  the  early  days  of  Rome  the 
northwest  section  of  the  Campus  jMartius,  bordering  on  the  Tiber, 
was  conspicuous  for  traces  of  volcanic  activity.  There  was  a  pool 
called  Tarentum  or  Terentum,  fed  by  hot  sulphur  (?)  springs,  the 
efficacy  of  which  was  attested  by  tlie  cui-e  of  Volesus,  the  Sabine, 
and  of  his  family.    Dark  vapors  liungover  tlie  springs,  and  tongues 


THE    TARENTUM 


447 


of  flame  si^rang  from  the  cracks  of  the  earth.  The  phice  became 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Fiery  Field  {campus  iynifer),  and  its 
connection  with  the  infernal  regions  was  soon  an  established  fact 
in  folk-lore.  An  altar  was  erected  to  the  infernal  gods  on  the 
borders  of  the  pool,  and  games  were  held  periodically  in  honor  of 
Dis  and  Proserpina,  the  victims  being  a  black  bull  and  a  black 
cow.  The  games,  originally  called  ludi  Tarentini,  became  in  pro- 
gress of  time  the  hull  Sceculares,  and  their  direction  was  intrusted 
to  a  college  of  priests  named  the"  quindecemviri  sacris  faciundis." 
No  other  object  of  Roman  topography,  no  otlier  feature  in  Roman 
religious  institutions,  has  been  better  illustrated  by  recent  discov- 
eries than  have  this  famous  altar  and  these  famous  games.  We 
have  found  the  altar  itself  and  the  basin  of  the  spring,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Quindecemviri,  and  the  oflicial  report  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  games  under  Augustus  and  under  Septimius  Severus 
and  Caracalla. 

The  discovery  of  the  Ara  Ditis  et  Proserpinae  took  place  in 
the  winter  of  ISSfi-ST,  while  the  new  Corso  Vittorio  Emmanuele 


Fig.  174.  —  Plan  of  the  Ara  Ditis  et  Prosperiiiae. 

was  being  opened  at  the  back  of  the  Cesarini  Palace.  The  posi- 
tion and  shape  of  the  monument  are  sliown  in  the  accompanying 
drawings.  No  traces  of  the  altar  and  of  its  triple  inclosure  have 
been  left  visible,  except  two  pieces  of  the  pulcini  of  tlie  altar 
removed  to  the  court  of  the  Palazzo  del  Conservatory 


448 


URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 


The  scliola  or  residence  of  the  Quiudeceiuviri  was  discovered 
on  April  16,  1889,  under  and  near  the  (now  destroyed)  oratorio 
di  S.   Giovanni  de'  Fiorentini,  Via  del   Consolato.     There  were 


Fig.  175.  — Fiagments  of  the  Pulviui  of  llie  Ara  Ditis. 


remains  of  a  hall  of  basilical  type,  built  of  red  and  yellow  bricks, 
and  divided  into  a  nave  and  aisles  by  two  lines  of  columns.  These 
ruins  were  far  more  consjjicuous  in  bygone  days :  the  Mirabilia 
give  them  the  name  of  "  Secretarium  Neronis."  The  drain  of  the 
Corso  Vittorio  Emmanuele  cuts  the  apse  of  the  hall  in  a  slanting 
direction.  I  ara  sure  that,  if  a  proper  search  were  made,  historical 
documents  of  great  value  would  be  brought  to  light. 

The  official  compte  rendu  of  the  celebration  of  the  ludi  sseculares 
was  discovered  on  September  20,  1890,  by  the  workmen  employed 
in  the  construction  of  the  .sewer  between  the  Ponte  S.  Angelo  and 
that  of  S.  Giovanni  de'  Fiorentini.  The  fragments  of  marble 
upon  which  the  precious  records  were  engraved  lay  embedded  in  a 
mediaeval  wall.  There  were  one  hundred  and  thirteen  fragments 
in  all ;  of  which  eight  refer  to  the  games  celebrated  by  Augustus 
in  17  B.  c,  two  to  those  of  Domitian,  the  rest  to  those  celebrated 
by  Septimius  Severus  in  a.  d.  204.  The  fragments  of  the  year 
17  fit  together  so  as  to  make  a  block  three  metres  high,  containing 
a  hundred  and  sixty-eight  lines.  Tlie  others  are  in  a  more  frag- 
mentary state.  They  are  all  exhibited  in  the  Museo  delle  Terme, 
first  room,  first  floor. 

Literature.  —  Rortolfo  Lanciani,  Z'  itinerario  di  Einsiedlen,  p.  108;  and 
Pagan  and  ChriMian  Rome,  p.  73.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  /  comentarn  del  ludi 
secolari  Auf/usfei  e  Sereriani  (in  Mon.  ant.  Lincei,  vol.  i.  .3,  a.  1891);  and  in 
Ephemeris  epi,a;r.,  1892,  vol.  viii.  pp.  22.5-.309.  —  Carlo  Pascal,  Bull.  com. 
189.3,  p.  195;  and  1894,  p.  54.  — Giovanni  Pinza,  ibid.,  1896,  p.  191. 

XXXYT.  Campus  Martius.  —  The  nintli  region  of  Augustus, 
bordered  by  the  Via  Flaminia,  the  Servian  walls,  and  the  Tiber, 
was  divided  into  two  sections,  one  named  (from  the)  Circux  Fla- 
minitis.  the  other.   Campus  Martin.-:.     The  latter,  in  its  turn,  was 


THE    CAMPUS   MART  I  US  449 

subdivided  into  a  Campus  Martins  motor  and  a  Campus  Martius 
minor.  The  origin  of  these  sections  and  denominations  must  be 
briefly  explained,  but  the  evidence  to  be  gathered  from  classics 
is  rather  conflicting.  Livy  (ii.  5)  says  that  the  field  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tiber  was  dedicated  to  Mars,  and  obtained  accordingly 
the  name  of  Martius  only  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins. 
Dionysius  (iv.  22 ;  v.  13)  asserts  that  the  field  was  consecrated  to 
that  deity  before  the  time  of  Servius  Tullius,  but  without  saying 
when.  It  is  certain  tliat  an  "  Ara  ]\Iartis  "  existed  from  a  very 
ancient  date  in  the  campus,  and  also  an  "  ^l-^des  Martis,"  distinct 
from  and  probably  much  older  than  that  erected  by  Brutus  Cal- 
laicus  near  the  Circus  Flaminius.  Its  ruins  (?)  were  discovered 
by  Baltard  in  1837,  and  again  by  Vespignani  in  1873,  under  the 
block  of  houses  bounded  by  the  Via  and  Piazza  di  S.  Salvatore 
in  Campo  and  the  Via  degli  Specchi.^  On  the  whole,  we  may  con- 
clude that  the  field  had  been  set  aside  for  public  use,  and  placed 
under  the  protection  of  the  gods,  before  the  time  of  Tarquinius 
Priscus.  Tarquinius  Superbus  appropriated  and  cultivated  it  for 
his  own  use;  and  when,  after  his  flight,  the  consuls  Brutus  and 
Valerius  proceeded  to  confiscate  his  estates,  the  campus  was  cov- 
ered with  standing  corn.  The  crop,  being  deemed  accursed,  was 
thrown  into  the  river,  where  it  lodged  on  a  mud-bank  and  formed 
the  insula  Tiberina  (di  S.  Bartolomeo). 

We  hear  for  the  first  time  of  the  PratQ  Flaminia  as  a  section 
of  the  same  plain  about  445  b.  c.  It  was  at  the  time  of  the  second 
secession,  brought  about  by  Virginius,  when  the  tribunes,  restored 
to  power,  held  an  assembly  of  the  people  in  the  above  named 
meadows,  situated  under  the  Capitoline  hill,  at  the  southern  end 
of  the  plain.  The  meadows,  therefore,  formerly  owned  by  the 
Flaminii,  must  have  become  public  proj^erty;  and  indeed  they 
appear  to  have  been,  at  least  in  part,  consecrated  to  Apollo  and 
called  the  Apollinar  (Livy,  iii.  63).  Some  time  later  a  Temple  of 
Apollo,  voted  in  433,  in  propitiation  of  a  pestilence,  was  erected 
near  this  site,  and  dedicated  by  the  consul  Cn?eus  Julius  in  43!). 
The  well-preserved  remains  of  this  venerable  monument  are  to 
be  seen  in  some  caves  that  can  be  reached  from  the  convent  of  S. 
Maria  in  Camintellio 

1  LiTERATUKE  Oil  the  Temple  of  Via  degli  Specchi,  so  little  known  to  stu- 
dents.—  Luigi  Canina,  Aimed.  Inst.,  ]8;38,  p.  1,  pis.  a,  r.;  and  Edijizil  di  Roma 
(tntica,  vol.  ii.  pi.  vi. — Uvlichs,  Besclirtihunfi,  iii^,  p.  ,30. — Virginio  Vespi- 
gnani, Bull,  com.,  1873,  p.  212,  pis.  v.,  vi.  —  Brnnn,  in  Sitzunf/shcrirhte  der 
Miinchener  Akad.,  1870,  p.  343,  identities  these  remains  with  the  Templum 
Neptiini  in  Circo  Klaminio. 


450  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

Literature  on  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  the  yEcles  Apolliiils  Medici  of  Livy, 
xl.  51.  — Kodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  Jn»l.,  1878,  p.  218;  and  Bull,  com.,  1883, 
p.  188.  — Carlo  Pascal,  II  piii  antico  tempio  d' Apollo  a  Roma  (in  Bull,  com., 
1893,  p.  46).  —  Gioacchino  Corrado,  Memorie  di  S.  Maria  in  jwrtico,  pianta 
lett.  S.     Rome,  1871. 

Besides  the  estate  of  the  Flaminii,  we  hear  of  another  field 
bequeathed  to  the  people  by  the  vestal  Tarracia.  Then  comes  the 
section  set  apart  for  the  breaking  in  of  horses  (Trigariiim),  and 
another  where  horse  races,  said  to  have  been  instituted  by  Rom- 
ulus in  honor  of  Mars,  were  celebrated  (Equirriorum  Campus). 
The  bank  of  the  river  was  lined  with  bathing-houses,  where  the 
young  men,  tired  of  horse-riding,  could  refi'esh  themselves  with  a 
plunge  in  the  cool  stream.  There  were  also  quays  for  the  landing 
of  wine  (Portus  Yinarius)  and  other  merchandise  brought  in  by 
barges  from  Etruria  and  Sabina. 

At  the  time  of  Augustus  the  campus  was  alreadj'  divided  into 
the  "greater"  and  the  "lesser."  (See  Strabo,  v.  3;  and  Catullus, 
Iv.  3.)  The  origin  and  the  scope  of  such  division  are  not  clear : 
one  thing  is  certain,  that  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  while  the 
name  of  Circus  Flaminius  had  been  extended  to  the  whole  ninth 
region,  that  of  Campus  Martins  had  been  restricted  to  a  very 
limited  space,  lined  by  stone  cippi,  one  of  whicli  (Corpus  Inscr., 
vol.  vi.  n.  874)  was  discovered  in  1.592  in  the  foundations  of  the 
Palazzo  Serlupi  Crescenzi,  Via  del  Seminario.  This  fragment  of 
the  historical  campus,  as  it  were,  destined  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  a  state  of  things  which  had  long  ceased  to  exist,  is 
located  in  the  region  of  the  present  Palazzo  Serlupi,  also  by  the 
"  Vita  Sev.  Alex.,"  26. 

Literature.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  La  /jaaillca  Motidiet:  vl  Murcianeit  (in 
Bull,  com.,  1883,  p.  11). 

B.  The  Monuments  of  the  Prata  Flaminia  (ad  Circu.'m  Fi-a:\iinium). 

The  group  comprises  the  Circus  Flaminius,  indirectly  connected 
with  the  .^tabula  quatuor  Factionum  sex ;  the  Temple  of  Hercules, 
keeper  of  the  Circus ;  those  of  Bellona  (of  Mars),  of  Castor,  of 
Piety,  of  Volkan  ;  and  lastly,  the  Via  Flaminia. 

XXXVII.  Circus  Flaminius.  —  Among  the  important  works 
undertaken  for  public  convenience  in  the  period  between  the  first 
and  second  Punic  wars,  those  of  C.  Flaminius  Nepos,  censor  in  221 
B.  c,  and  killed  at  Lake  Trasimenus  in  217,  hold  a  j^rominent 
place.     He  Vmilt  a  circus  in  that  section  of  the  campus  which  bore 


THE    CIRCUS   FLAM  IN  I  US  451 

his  family  name,  and  opened  a  highroad  between  Rome  and 
northern  Italy.  The  proximity  of  the  circus  to  the  gates  of  the 
city  and  to  the  Capitol  made  it  a  favorite  place  for  popular  meet- 
ings, like  the  one  of  211  b.  c,  in  which  Marcellus  cleared  himself 
of  the  accusations  brought  forward  by  his  enemies ;  and  the  other 
of  189,  in  which  Fulvius  Nobilior,  the  conqueror  of  ^Etolia,  con- 
ferred tlie  military  rewards  on  his  officers  and  men.  The  tribuni 
plebis  used  it  constantly  for  meeting  and  addressing  their  constitu- 
ents ;  and  fairs  {liundince)  were  held  periodically  under  cover  of 
its  arcades.  Augustus  filled  the  race-course  with  water  in  6  b.  c, 
and  gave  the  citizens  a  specimen  of  alligator-hunting,  in  wiiich 
thirty  of  these  monsters  were  killed. 

The  remains  of  the  circus  were  very  conspicuous  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  disappeared  from  view  only  in  the  second  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Three  documents  describe  them  in  detail :  a 
bull  of  Celestin  III.  of  1192 ;  a  passage  in  Andrea  Fulvio's  "  Antiqq. 
Urbis,"  book  iii.  p.  Ixv. ;  and  another  in  Ligorio's  "  Circhi,"  p.  17'. 
The  Inill  of  Celestin  calls  the  ruins  "  the  golden  castle  "  {castellum 
aureum) ;  mentions  the  arcades  which  ran  the  whole  length  of  the 
circus  (parietes  altre  et  antiquce  in  circuitu  positfe)  ;  the  principal 
doorway  in  the  middle  of  the  carceres  opening  towards  the  cam- 
pitello ;  a  garden  near  (or  within  ?)  the  circus  full  of  great  re- 
mains ;  the  slopes  upon  which  the  seats  for  the  spectators  were 
placed ;  and  lastly,  churches  and  houses  built  against  and  above 
the  ruins. 

Fulvio  says  :  "The  shape  and  the  plan  of  the  circus  can  still  be 
easily  made  out ;  there  are  traces  of  the  seats  at  S.  Caterina  de' 
Funari,  so-called  from  the  ropewalks  established  under  the  porti- 
coes. The  length  of  the  circus  is  marked  by  the  house  of  Pietro 
Margani  and  the  church  of  S.  Salvatore  in  Pensili  at  one  end,  and 
the  palace  of  Ludovico  Mattel  at  the  other  ;  the  width  runs  between 
the  street  called  le  Botteghe  Oscure  on  one  side,  and  the  Torre  del 
Cetrangolo  on  the  other.  The  head  of  the  circus  (viz.,  the  curved 
end  with  the  Porta  Triumphalis)  is  to  be  seen  by  the  Mattel  Palace, 
in  the  region  called  Calcarara  on  account  of  the  lime-burners  who 
use  the  arcades  for  kilns." 

Ligorio,  while  confirming  Fulvio's  statements  as  to  the  size  and 
orientation  of  the  circus,  says  that  Ludovico  Mattel  is  responsible 
for  the  destruction  of  its  last  remains.  "  Only  a  few  years  ago 
[about  1550]  1  was  able  to  design  the  curved  end,  and  measure  its 
plan ;  but  in  laying  the  foundations  of  his  house  Messer  Ludovico 
has  uprooted  its  remains,  made  of  great  blocks  of  travertine  ;  I  have 


452  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

seen  the  floor  of  the  arena,  made  of  concrete  (optit<  dgninum)  very 
hard  and  thick,  covered  here  and  there  with  patches  of  mosaic  ; 
and  also  the  channel  (euripus)  which  separates  the  seats  from  the 
arena.  Water  still  runs  in  the  euripus,  from  a  spring  called  il 
Fonte  di  Calcarara,  visible  under  the  house  of  a  dyer  close  by." 
The  Mattel  Palace  mentioned  by  Ligorio  is  not  the  present  one 
opjaosite  the  church  of  S.  Caterina  de'  Funari,  but  the  Palazzo 
Paganica  on  the  street  and  piazza  of  the  same  name,  in  the  court 
and  in  the  cellars  of  which  a  few  walls  are  still  to  be  seen.  The 
spring  of  which  he  speaks  has  been  lately  rediscovered  by  Nar- 
ducci.^  Some  of  the  marble  ornaments  brought  to  light  in  the 
course  of  the  excavations  are  to  be  seen  in  the  cortile  of  tlie  present 
palace.  The  name  of  le  Botteghe  Oscure  given  to  the  street  w^hich 
skirts  the  circus  on  the  south  side  is  a  recollection  of  the  long  line 
of  arcades  which  gave  shelter  to  the  rope-makers  and  lime-burners. 

While  the  statements  of  Fulvio  and  Ligorio,  and  the  existing 
remains  of  the  round  end  at  Piazza  Paganica,  allow  us  to  locate 
the  circus  within  well-defined  limits,  and  to  assign  it  a  length  of 
about  297  metres,  and  a  width  of  about  120,  the  drawings  of 
Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  elder,  of  Antonio  the  younger,  of  Vinandus 
Pighius,  and  of  Baldassare  Peruzzi  give  us  the  means  of  restoring 
its  plan  and  elevation. 

Peruzzi's  sketch  is  to  be  found  in  sheet  408  of  the  "  Uffizi."  The 
intercolumniation  (from  centre  to  centre  of  the  Doric  semicolumns 
of  the  lower  portico)  measured  about  7  metres,  the  diameter  of  the 
semicolumns  0.74  metre,  the  abacus  of  the  capital  1.02  metre ;  the 
direction  of  the  circus  diverged  by  19°  from  the  west.  Sangallo 
the  elder  gives  the  sketch  of  the  cornice  of  the  lower  order  (Uffizi, 
2050),  while  Sangallo  the  younger  designs  ''uno  basamento  di  uno 
edifitio  trouato  in  casa  di  messer  Gregorio  di  Serlupis  presso  alia 
torre  del  melangolo,"  the  same  tower  where  Fulvio  places  the  car- 
ceres  of  the  circus  (Uffizi,  2087).  In  the  last  place,  A'inandus  Pi- 
ghius gives  a  sketch  of  an  architrave  with  the  inscription  of  Anicius 
Faustus  (Fig.  177,  p.  4.54),  discovered  about  1550  (Cod.  Berolin., 
f.  120'). 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  i.  p.  607.  —  Giacomo 
Lumbroso,  Meinor.  di  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo,  p.  48.  —  C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull, 
com.,  IST.i,  p.  217.  — Notizie  Scan,  1877,  p.  80.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.n.l676, 
842.3,  9136.  —  Emiliano  ^urti,'  Arch ivio  Sncicta  storin  pntria,  vol.  ix.  p.  484.— 
Mariano  Avmelliiii,  Chiese,  pp.  5.52,  55.5,  5.58.  —  Heiiiricb  Jordan,  Topogr.,\o\. 
li.  p.  383. 

1  Dtlla  Fof/natura,  p.  38. 


=^' 


=1 


t: 


M 


Aut  J.cSc^'^'^    ^t-"-'    »"K 


^^.  J.^^^  ^  ^  y  |a '  ^A ff^j   IcAVc,^ Imm^ '^0 


Fig.  176.  —  Architectural  Details  of  tlie  Circus  FIaminiu8. 


454  UMBS    SACBA    REGIONUM    XIV 


AN  lCtV5.ACILIVS-6LABRia-rAMiTV5-Nrc  ■•PRAlF-VR 

FATALl-CASV'SV^VE:RSAAA-fN-^OR-AAAAA»T^KISCI-Mi 


Fig.  177.  — The  Inscription  of  Anicius  Faustu.s,  from  tlie  Circus  Flamiuius  (?). 

XXXVIII.  Stabiila  qx'atuoh  Factionum  VL  :  barracks  of 
the  four  (six)  squadrons  of  charioteers,  connected  with  all  Roman 
racing  grounds,  but  especially  with  the  C'ircus  Flaniinius  by  loca- 
tion and  proximity.  The  factiones  were  distinguished  by  a  color. 
At  first  there  were  only  two,  the  red,  "  russata,"  and  the  white, 
"  albata ;  "  next  came  the  blue,  "  veneta,"  pi'obably  in  the  time  of 
Augiistus;  and  soon  after  the  gTeen,  -'prasina."  Lastly,  Doniitian 
added  the  purple,  "purpurea,"  and  the  golden,  "aurata."  The 
barracks  in  which  they  and  their  race-horses  were  quartered  are 
generally  placed  on  the  site  of  the  2:)resent  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in 
Damaso  and  of  the  Palazzo  della  Cancelleria,  because  one  of  the 
denominations  of  the  same  church  is  //)  prosino :  but  the  fact  that 
only  one  of  four  (or  six)  factions  is  alluded  to,  coupled  with  the 
discovery  of  a  pedestal  dedicated  to  an  agitator  factionis  Praslna', 
at  la  Cancelleria,  and  of  a  water-pipe  on  which  the  name  "factionis 
prasinpe,"  and  no  other,  is  engraved,^  proves  in  my  opinion  that 
there  was  not  one  great  establishment  for  the  four  squadrons 
together,  but  four  establishments,  one  for  each.  They  covered 
approximately  the  space  l^etween  the  churches  of  S.  Lucia  della 
Chiavica,  and  S.  Lorenzo  in  Prasino,  and  the  English  college.  Via 
]Monserrato,  in  the  foundations  of  which  an  interesting  inscription 
(Corpus,  n.  621)  and  "  una  bellissima  statua  di  un  Fauno  "  were 
found  in  1682.  The  blues  are  recorded  in  n.  9719  [Crescens,  na- 
tione  Bessus,  (olearius)  de  portic(u)  Pallantian(a)  Venetian (o rum)]  ; 
and  in  No.  10,044,  a  pedestal  erected  in  memory  of  one  of  their 
great  victories,  found  at  S.  Lucia  della  chiavica.  The  cemetery  of 
the  charioteers  was  in  the  Vatican  district,  along  the  Via.  Tri- 
umphalis. 

Literature.  — Lovatelli  Ersilia  Caetani,  Bidl.com.,  1878,  p.  164.  — Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Ancient  /?ome,  p.  21.3.  — Friedliinder,  ^Ittenrjeschichte,  fiinfte  Aufl., 
1   Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  10,058  (and  10,0f)3)  ;  Bull,  com.,  1887,  p.  10. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   HERCULES 


455 


1881,  vol.  ii.  p.  4(J0.—  Corpus  Jnscr.,   vol.  vi.  part  ii.  pp.  1307-1321.  —  Pietro 
Sante  Bartoli,  J/ew.  107  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  ccliii.). 

XXXIX.  Templum  Herculis  magni  Custoois  ad  C'ircum 
Flaminium  (Temple  of  Hercules,  the  great  keeper  of  the  Circus 
Flamiuius).  —  In  the  garden  of  the  small  cloisters  annexed  to  the 
church  of  S.  Mcolo  ai  Cesarini  there  are  remains  of  a  circular 
temple  with  fluted  columns  of  tufa  coated  with  white  plaster,  and 
resting   upon   a   basement    of 

travertine.     The  cliurch  itself    . - 

rests  on  the  foundations  of  an- 
other temple,  rectangular  in 
shape,  and  built  likewise  of 
tufa  coated  with  stucco.  Both 
appear  in  fragment  xvi.  110 
of  the  "  Forma  Urbis,"  here 
reproduced.  Three  or  four 
hundred  years  ago  they  were 
in  a  much  better  state  of  pres- 
ervation. The  round  temple 
was  named  "  Veneris  in  Calca- 
rario,"  "  calcararium  "  mean- 
i  ng  the  region  of  the  lime-kilns 
and  of  lime-burners,  which  ex- 
tended from  the  Piazza  dell' 
Olmo  and  >S.  Lucia  dei  Ginnasi  to  the  church  of  the  Stimmate, 
once  called  of  SS.  Quaranta  in  Calcarari.  The  name,  however, 
was  wrong :  the  elegant  little  structure  belongs  to  Hercules  the 
protector  of  the  circus,  to  Hercules  the  oracular  god,  so  much  in 
favor  with  the  charioteers.  It  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
Circus  Flaminius  as  the  round  Temple  of  Hercules  Invictus  of 
the  eleventh  region  stood  to  the  Circus  jNlaximus.  Speaking  of 
the  temples  of  Hercules  in  general,  Vitruvius  (i.  7, 1)  contends  that 
they  must  be  raised  near  the  gymnasium  or  the  amphitheatre  of 
each  city ;  and  in  case  there  should  be  no  gymnasium  or  amphi- 
theatre, near  the  circus  at  least.  Vitruvius  therefore  places  the 
god  in  relation  first  to  athletes,  then  to  gladiators,  lastly  to  chari- 
oteers ;  but  in  Rome  the  charioteers  were  his  favorites.  The  birth- 
day of  the  god,  February  1,  was  celebrated  with  races  (Corpus, 
vol.  i.  336,  337),  and  other  races  were  run  on  June  4,  near  the 
Porticus  Minucia,  before  a  colossal  bronze  statue  of  him. 

Literature.  —  Ludwig  Preller,    Gr.   MythoL,   ii.   3,    p.   276.  —  Theodor 


Fig.  178.  —  A  Fragment  of  the  Forma  Urbis 
showing  round  Temple  of  Hercules. 


456 


URBS   8ACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


Mommseii,  Gesch.  d.  riim.  Munzioesens,  p.  619,  n.  259.  —  Babelon,  DescriiH. 
des  monnaies  de  la  Rqmblique,  ii.  565,  gens  Volteia,  n.  1-5.—  C'o?7WS  Jnscr.,  i. 
n.  1538,  p.  561  (and  p.  301);  vi.  335;  ix.  421.  —  Roscher,  Ausfilhrliches  Lexi- 
con, p.  2979. 

By  an  almost  inexplicable  coincidence,  which  is  certainly  unique 
in  the  annals  of  the  plunder  and  destruction  of  ancient  Rome,  the 
Hercules  Invictus  and  the  Hercules  Magnus  Gustos,  both  cast 
in  bronze,  both  of  colossal  size,  both  still  glittering  under  their 
coating  of  gold,  have  been  found  concealed  near  their  respective 
temples.     We  possess  but  scanty  information  about  the  finding 


Fig.  179.  —  The  Finding  of  the  Bronze  Statue  of  tlie  Hercules  Magnus  Gustos, 

August  8,  1SG4. 

of  the  Hercules  Invictus,  ad  duodecim  portas,  viz.,  near  the  car- 
ceres  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  which  took  place  under  Sixtus  IV. 
(1471-1484).^  That  of  the  Hercules  Magnus  Custos  took  place  on 
August  8,  1864,  near  the  Piazza  di  Campo  de  Fiori,  in  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Palazzo  Pio-Righetti,  which  stands  on  the  ruins 
of  Pompey's  Theatre.     The    statue  was   lying  in  a  deep  cavity, 

1  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  V  ara  massima  di  Ercole  (in  Annal.  Inst.,  1854,  p. 
28).  —  Heinrich  .Jordan,  Topographie,  i^,  491.  —  Coi-jms  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  313- 
319.  —  Rodolfo  Laneiaui,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  69. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF  HERCULES 


457 


between  two  walls  of  peperino,  and  was  carefully  pi'otected  with 
slabs  of  portasanta  placed  one  against  another  like  the  tiles  of  a 
roof.  It  is  evident  that  the  charioteers,  still  flourishing  in  Rome 
at  the  time  of  the  first  barbarian  invasions,  exerted  themselves 
to  save  the  valuable  bronze  images  of  their  god  from  outrage  and 
plunder ;  and  they  succeeded  so  well  that  it  took  ten  centuries  to 
rediscover  the  hiding-place  of  the  Invictus,  and  fourteen  and  a 
half  that  of  the  Magnus  Gustos. 

The  accompanying  original  sketch  of  1864  represents  this  last 
event.     (Fig.  179.) 

The  statue,  slightly  restored  by  Tenerani,  has  been  given  a 
place  of  honor  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Vatican  Museum,  No.  .544. 
That  of  the  Invictus  has  been  removed  from  the  salone  of  the 
Capitoline  Museum  to  a  hardly  decent  room  in  the  Palazzo  de' 
Conservatori.  (Compare  Helbig's  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  211,  n.  299 ; 
and  p.  4.54,  n.  613.) 

Literature.  —  Ovid,  Fasti,  vi.  209.  —  Fabio  Gori,  Nuova  dimostrazione  die 
la  statua  scoperta  al  Biscione,  etc.  Rome,  Chiassi,  1864.  —  Carlo  Liidovico 
Visconti,  Osservazioni  mlla  statua  di  bronzo,  etc.  (in  Giornale  arcadico,  vol. 
xxxix.,  nuova  serie,  1804).  — Enrico  Fabiani,  L'  Ercole  del palazzo  Pio,  Rome, 
Menicanti,  1864;  and  Ancora  dell'  Ercole  del  palazzo  Pio,  same  year,  Nov.  1. 
—  Ugo  Koeliler,  Bull.  Inst.,  1864,  p.  227.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  ^wraa/.  Jnst., 
1883,  p.  11,  tav.  A,  B.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rcssi,  Bull,  com.,  1893,  p.  191.  — 
Furtwaengler,  Masterpieces,  p.  296,  n.  3. 

A  third  centi'e  of  the  worship  of  Her- 
cules by  the  charioteers  was  discovered 
in  August,  1889,  outside  the  Porta  Por- 
tese,  at  the  southwest  end  of  the  new 
railway  station.  It  consisted  of  a  sa- 
cred cave  hewn  out  of  the  live  rock, 
with  a  niche  and  an  altar  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  dedicatory  inscriptions  stating 
that  the  whole  had  been  done  by  a  cer- 
tain L.  Domitius  Permissus  by  order 
(imperio)  of  the  god.  There  were  two 
arce,  a  statuette  of  Hercides  Victor,  an- 
other of  Hercules  Cubans,  architectural 
fragments,  fragments  of  pottery,  and 
above  all  a  set  of  seven  portrait-hermse 
of  charioteers,  in  white  marble.  Hel- 
big  thinks  that  the  seven  hermae,  al- 
though by  different  sculptors,  date  from     ^'§  ^^'^:  -/!'«  Shrine  of  the 

=>        .»        _  !■    1  .  Hercules  luvictus,  discovered 

the  same  period,  that  of  the  Julian  Em-       in  1889,  on  the  via  Portuensia. 


458  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

pevors.  This  discovery  must  be  compared  with  that  (made  in  the 
same  place,  March,  1632,  by  Andrea  Brngiotti)  of  an  inscription 
describing  how  Plotius  Romanus,  a  consul  suffectiis  of  uncertain 
date,  had  raised  a  temple  to  Hercules  Invictus  in  this  tract  of  the 
Via  Portuensis. 

This  interesting  group  of  monuments  has  been  unhappily  dis- 
persed :  the  sacred  cave  and  the  altar  covered  with  bas-reliefs  of 
stucco  was  destroyed  in  1889 ;  the  seven  heads  of  charioteers  are 
exhibited  in  the  south  wing  of  the  quadrangle  of  the  Museo  delle 
Terme,  somewhat  apart  from  each  other  (n.  16,  18,  22,  24,  30,  34, 
38).  I  do  not  know  the  fate  of  the  stone  statuettes  and  of  the 
two  arae  of  Domitius  Permissus. 

Literature.  —  iVoh'stV,  degli  Scavl,  1889,  p.  2-23.  — MiffJi ell iingen,  1891,  p. 
Ii9.—  Corjms  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  332.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  ii. 
p.  206,  n.  1007,  1013. 

C.    The  Monuments  ok  the  Forum  Holitorium. 

(See  §  lix.  p.  511.) 

XL.  The  Forum  Holitorium  (Piazza  Montanara),  the  central 
market  for  vegetables,  will  be  described  in  §  lix.,  with  other 
similar  establishments  lining  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber  "  above 
and  below  bridge." 

From  a  monumental  point  of  view  the  Forum  Holitorium  was 
remarkable,  on  account  of  the  many  temples  and  porticoes  by 
which  it  was  inclosed  on  every  side.  The  temples  were  four  at 
least,  viz. :  — 

A.  iEDES  Spei  (Temple  of  Hope),  vowed  by  M.  Atilius  Cala- 
tinus  in  2.54  b.  c,  during  the  first  Punic  war,  burnt  to  ashes  sev- 
eral times,  and  rebuilt  lastly  by  Germanicus. 

B.  ^DES  PiETATis,  vowed  by  Manius  Acilius  Glabrio  at  the 
battle  of  the  Thermopylai,  191  b.  c,  and  dedicated  by  his  son  ten 
years  later. 

C.  ^DES  luxoNis  SospiT^,  built  in  197  b.  c,  by  C.  Cornelius 
Cethegus. 

D.  Templum  Iani,  connected  with  the  legend  of  the  Fabii 
(Festus,  Mull.,  p.  285),  rebuilt  first  by  C.  Duilius  in  the  third 
century  before  Christ,  and  secondly  by  Tiberius:  The  Roman 
calendars  in  mentioning  the  feast-days  of  this  temple,  August  17 
and  October  18,  place  it  "  ad  theatrum  Marcelli." 

The  porticoes  were  two  at  least,  the  Minucia  vetus  and  the 
Frumentaria,  the  work  of  M.  Minucius,  consul  in  A.  d.  110. 


THE   POMP  EI  AN  BUILDINGS  459 

D.    The  Pompeian  Buildings. 

XLI.  The  group  of  buildings  raised  by  Pompey  the  Great  in  the 
centre  of  the  phiin,  known  to  topographers  as  the  group  ad  theatrum 
Lapideum,  presents  this  curious  fact:  that  while  it  is  known  in 
every  particular,  from  texts  of  classics,  from  plans  and  designs 
taken  at  various  times,  and  from  discoveries  made  to  the  present 
day,  no  trace  of  it  exists  above  ground.  The  theatre,  which  con- 
tained 17,580  seats  (loca) ;  tlie  curia,  where  Julius  Csesar  was 
murdered  on  March  15,  44  b.  c.  ;  the  Porticus  Pompeiana,  inclos- 
ing exquisite  gardens ;  the  portico  of  the  hundred  columns  (heca- 
tostylon) ;  tlie  Temple  of  Victory  on  the  highest  point  of  the  cavea ; 
and  the  Temple  of  JNIinerva  Campensis,  have  all  been  leveled  to  the 
ground  or  have  disappeared.  The  description,  therefore,  of  the 
Theatrum  Lapideum  and  of  the  monuments  near  it  cannot  find  a 
place  in  a  book  which  treats  only  of  existing  rviins. 

Among  the  many  works  of  art  saved  from  the  wreck  of  these 
buildings,  two  are  deservedly  popular  among  stiidents  :  the  Pompey 
of  tlie  Palazzo  Spada  and  the  Minerva  of  the  Galleria  Giustiniani. 

The  discovery  of  the  colossal  statue  of  the  hero  (so-called)  is 
thus  described  by  Flaminio  Vacca :  "  I  remember  that  in  the  Via 
de'  Leutari,  close  to  the  Cancelleria,  at  the  time  of  Julius  III. 
(1553),  a  marble  statue  of  Pompey,  fifteen  palms  high,  was  found 
in  a  cellar.  The  parting  wall  with  the  next  house  happened  to 
fall  just  across  the  neck,  so  that  the  owner  of  each  house  claimed 
it  for  his  own  :  the  first  because  the  largest  part  of  the  statue  was 
lying  on  his  side  of  the  wall,  the  second  because  the  head,  the 
noblest  pai't,  and  that  which  gave  a  name  to  the  statue,  happened 
to  be  on  the  other  side.  After  mature  discussion  the  ignorant 
judge  decided  that  the  head  should  be  severed  from  the  body  and 
each  part  handed  over  to  its  legitimate  possessor.  Poor  Pompey ! 
It  was  not  enough  that  he  should  have  suffered  once  the  same  evil 
fate  at  the  hands  of  Ptolemy  !  When  Cardinal  Capodiferro '  heard 
of  this  foolish  arrangement,  he  made  an  appeal  to  the  pope.  Julius 
III.  had  the  statue  carefully  excavated  on  his  own  account,  leaving 
a  sum  of  five  hundi'ed  scudi  to  be  divided  among  the  two  fighting- 
neighbors,  and  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  cardinal  "  (Mem.,  57). 

Modern  art  critics,  who  seem  to  delight  in  making  us  disbelieve 

1  Girolamo  Capodiferro,  a  Roman  patrician,  born  in  1502,  legate  to  France 
and  Portugal  in  1541,  bishop  of  Nice  in  1542,  cardinal  of  S.  Giorgio  in  1544, 
built  a  noble  palace  in  the  piazza  M'hich  still  bears  his  name.  After  his  death 
in  1559  the  palace  passed  into  the  hands  of  Cardinal  Bernardino  Spada, 


4G0  UUBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

what  were  once  considered  fundamental  points  in  the  history  of 
ancient  art,  deny  any  connection  between  this  noble  portrait-statue 
and  Pompey  the  Great.  Carlo  Fea,  in  his  "  Osservazioni  intorno 
alia  celebre  statua  detta  di  Pompeo  lette  il  10  settembre  [1812] 
neir  Accad.  rom.  d'  Archeologia,"  called  the  attention  of  archaeolo- 
srists  to  the  traces  of  a  band  or  ribbon,  visible  on  the  sword-belt 


Fig.  181.  —The  so-called  Pouipey  the  Great  of  the  Palazzo  Spada. 


THE   PO.UPEIAN  BUILDINGS  461 

near  the  left  shoulder,  and  on  tlie  cloak  behind  the  clasp,  which 
cannot  possibly  belong  to  the  present  head,  but  to  an  original  one 
encircled  by  a  garland  or  a  tsenia.  Wolfgang  Helbig,  comparing 
in  1886  the  Spada  head  with  those  on  the  family  coins  of  Sextus 
Pompeius,  and  with  three  portrait  heads  of  the  hero  undoubtedly 
genuine,  said  it  was  needless  to  discuss  a  question  already  settled 
in  the  minds  of  most  arch.Tologists.  Helbig  has  again  taken  up 
the  controversy  in  vol.  ii.  p.  170  of  the  "  Guide,"  concluding  with 
these  words :  "  The  writer  feels  it  utterly  superfluous  to  waste 
more  words  on  the  point,  since  a  head  has  recently  been  found 
which  .  .  .  may  be  unreservedly  recognized  as  a  likeness  of  Pompey. 
The  head  placed  on  the  statue  is  of  an  unknown  individual ;  .  .  . 
the  two  neck  pieces  do  not  harmonize ;  .  .  .  the  head  also  differs 
from  the  body  in  the  quality  of  the  marble.  .  .  .  The  alien  head 
had  been  placed  on  the  body  in  ancient  times." 

T^iTEK.VTUKE.  —  Carlo  Fea,  Notizie  decjli  Scavi  dell'  anfiteatro  Flario.  Rome, 
181:5,  ]i.  31. —Wolfgang  Helbig,  Mitth'eilumjen,  1886,  p.  .37,  pi.  ii.;  and  Guiilv, 
vol.  ii.  p.  172.  —  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  Museums,  p.  459. 

The  Minerva,  formerly  in  the  jiossession  of  the  Giustiniani  and 
Prince  Lucien  Bonaparte,  and  now  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
IJraccio  Nuovo  in  the  Vatican  (n.  Ill),  was  certainly  found  near 
the  church  named  after  her  (S.  Maria  soi:)ra  Minerva),  among  the 
ruins  of  the  temple  erected  by  Pompey  the  Great  in  62  b.  c,  injured 
l>y  the  fire  of  Titus,  and  restored  by  Domitian  under  the  name  of 
'•  Minerva  Chalcidica."  Pliny  (vii.  27)  gives  a  copy  of  the  inscriji- 
tion  probably  engraved  in  front  of  the  temple  :  '■  Cnseus  Pompeius 
Magnus,  triumphant  general,  having  brought  to  a  close  a  war  of 
thirty'  years,  having  defeated  and  put  to  flight  or  death,  or  made 
prisoners,  1,201,803  men,  taken  846  war  vessels,  conquered  l.^);]8 
o[)Bn  or  fortified  towns,  and  occupied  the  lands  between  the  Red 
Sea  and  the  Pains  Ma?otis  (Sea  of  Azov),  offers  this  temple  to 
Minerva."  Andrea  Fulvio  describes  the  temple  as  nearly  perfect 
in  1513.  It  seems  to  have  been  destroyed  by  Clement  Vlll.  in 
l.'')27,  except  the  inclosure  wall  of  the  sacred  area  which  appears 
in  one  of  A16  Giovannoli's  sketches  of  1619. 

E.    The  Augustan  Buildings. 

There  are  remains  of  the  ]\Iausoleum,  of  the  Sun-dial,  of  the  Ara 
Pacis,  of  the  portico  of  Octavia,  and  of  the  theatre  of  INIarcellus. 

XLIT.  Mausoleum,  Ustrinum,  Silv^  et  Ambulationes. — 
Of  tlie  mausoleum,  built  by  Augustus  in  27  b.  c,  forty-one  years 


462  URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 

before  his  death,  we  have  a  description  by  Strabo,  and  ruins  which 
substantiate  that  description  in  its  main  lines.  It  was  composed 
of  a  circular  basement  of  white  marble,  88  metres  in  diameter, 
which  suppoi'ted  a  cone  of  earth,  planted  with  cypresses  and  ever- 
greens. The  bronze  statue  of  the  Emperor  towered  above  the 
trees.  The  vaults  were  approaclied  from  the  south,  the  entrance 
being  flanked  by  monuments  of  great  interest,  such  as  the  two 
obelisks  now  in  the  Piazza  del  Quirinale  and  the  Piazza  dell' 
Esquilino ;  the  copies  (in  marble  or  bronze)  of  the  decrees  of  the 
Senate  in  honor  of  the  personages  buried  within ;  and  above  all, 
the  Res  gestm  divi  Augusti,  a  political  will,  autobiography,  and 
apology,  the  importance  of  which  surpasses  that  of  any  other 
epigraphic  document  relating  to  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Literature  on  tlie  Res  i/eslce.  —  Theodor  Mommseu,  Res  yestm  divi  Augusti, 
2cl  edit.  Berlin,  Weidniann,  1883.  — Geppert,  Zum  Monuinentum  Ancyranum. 
Berlin,  1887.— Gaston  Boissier,  Le  Testament.  d'Auffuste  (in  Revue  des  deux 
niondes,  xliv.  (1863)  p.  734).  —  Luigi  Cantarelli,  L'  iscrizione  di  Ancyra  (in 
Bull.com.,  1889,  pp.  3,  57). 

The  gates  of  the  mausoleum  were  opened  for  the  first  time  in 
28  B.  c.  to  receive  the  ashes  of  young  Marcellus,  whose  premature 
death  is  so  touchingly  lamented  by  Virgil  (vi.  872) ;  for  the  last 
in.A.  D.  98,  for  the  reception  of  the  ashes  of  Nerva.  We  hear  no 
more  of  it  until  410,  when  the  Goths  must  have  ransacked  the 
Imperial  vaults.  No  harm,  however,  seems  to  have  been  done  to 
the  building  itself.  Like  the  mausoleum  of  Metella,  of  Severus 
Alexander,  and  of  Hadrian,  it  was  subsequently  converted  into  a 
stronghold.  Mausoleum  and  stronghold  were  nearly  destroyed  in 
1107  by  the  popidace,  infuriated  at  the  news  of  the  defeat  which 
the  Roman  army,  led  by  the  Colonnas.  had  suffered  on  Whit  ]\Ion- 
day  of  the  same  year  in  the  territory  of  Tusculuin.  Tlie  shapeless 
ruins  were  again  put  into  a  state  of  defense  by  the  Colonnas  in 
1241.  The  corpse  of  Cola  di  Rienzo  was  cremated  here  in  October, 
18.54.  Archaeological  exploration  began  in  1519.  On  July  14  of 
that  year  Baldassare  Peruzzi  discoveied  and  copied  some  of  the 
historical  inscriptions  m  situ,  and  made  drawings  of  the  basement 
which  I  have  reproduced  in  the  "  Bull,  com."  of  1882,  p.  151,  pis. 
xvi.,  xvii.,  from  the  originals  in  the  "  Uftizi,'"  n.  393,  394,  2067,  and 
2068.  The  obelisk,  now  in  the  Piazza  dell'  Esquilino,  was  found 
also  in  1519  near  the  church  of  S.  Rocco.  The  Soderini  family 
turned  the  place  into  a  hanging  garden  about  1550,  and  filled  it 
with  remarkable  works  of  statuary. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  while  the  corner  house  between  tlie  Via 


THE   MAUSOLEUM   OF   AUGUSTUS 


463 


del  Covso  and  the  Via  degli  otto  Cantoui  was  being  built,  the 
Ustrinum,  or  sacred  inclosure  for  the  cremation  of  the  members 
of  the  Imperial  family,  came  to  light  -with  many  historical  monu- 
ments. The  tirst  object  to  appear  was  the  beautiful  urn  of  ala- 
bastro  cotognino  now  in  the  Galleria  delle  Statue,  n.  421 ;  then 
came  several  inscribed  pedestals,  some  intended  to  indicate  the 


464  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

spot  on  which  each  prince  had  been  cremated,  others  the  places 
where  the  ashes  had  been  deposited,  —  tlie  former  end  with  the 
formula  "hie  crematns  [or  cremata]  est;"  the  latter  with  the 
words  "  hie  situs  [or  sita]  est."  The  cippi  mention  the  names  of 
Caius  Caesar ;  of  Tiberius,  d.  37  ;  of  Agrippina,  wife  of  Germanicus, 
d.  33,  buried  in  the  mausoleum  37 ;  of  Nero,  Gains,  Gaius  Tiberius, 
and  Livilla,  sons  and  daughter  of  Germanicus ;  of  Jnnia  Silana, 
first  wife  of  Nero  Caesar ;  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  son  of  Drusus  and 
Livia,  murdered  37 ;  and  of  Vespasian,  son  of  T.  Flavins  Clemens, 
and  nephew  of  the  Emperor  of  that  name.  The  mausoleum  of 
Augustus  and  its  contents  have  not  escaped  the  spoliation  and 
desecration  which  has  raged  in  past  times,  and  occasionally  rages 
still.  The  building,  formerly  a  bull-ring,  is  now  used  as  a  circus ; 
its  basement  is  concealed  by  mean  houses ;  the  two  obelisks  liave 
been  removed,  one  by  Sixtus  V.  in  1.587  to  the  Esquiline,  the  other 
by  Pius  VI.  in  1786  to  the  Quirinal ;  the  urn  of  Agrippina,  used 
as  a  grain  measure  in  the  JMiddle  Ages,  is  kept  in  the  Palazzo  dei 
Conservatori ;  six  urns  belong  to  the  Vatican ;  three  others  liave 
been  destroyed. 

The  shell  of  the  mausoleum,  built  of  reticulated  masonry,  can 
be  examined  from  the  court  of  the  Palazzo  Correa,  Via  de'  Ponte- 
fici,  and  from  that  of  the  Palazzo  Valdambrini,  Via  di  Ripetta,  n. 
102. 

Literature.  —  Co/yws  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  p.  157,  n.  884-895,  914,  868G.— 
Strabo,  v.  361.— i^es  t/eske,  2d  edit.  p.  ix.  — Pietro  Saute  Bartoli,  Gli  untichi 
sepolcri,  pi.  72.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  untica,  vol.  ii.  p.  .520.  —  Otto  Hirsch- 
feld,  Die  Kaiserlichen  Grnbstatten  in  Rom,  Sitzungsb.  d.  Berl.  Akad.,  Dec.  9, 
1886.  —  Liiigi  Borsari,  Bull,  com.,  1885,  p.  89.  —  Flaminio  Vacca,  Mem.  m  {in 
Tea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.  p.  xciv). 

XLIII.  HoROLOGiUM  or  Solarium  (sun-dial).  —  Pliny  (xxxvi. 
10),  speaking  of  the  obelisks  removed  from  Egyi)t  to  Rome  by  the 
first  Emperors,  says  that  Augustus  had  turned  to  a  practical  pur- 
pose the  one  raised  by  him  (in  the  year  10  u.  c.)  in  the  Campus 
Martins  south  of  the  mausoleum.  It  served  as  a  yvcifiuv  or  needle 
to  a  great  sun-dial,  the  lines  of  which  were  traced  on  a  pavement 
of  white  marble,  with  rules  of  gilt  metal.  Pliny  says  that  thirty 
years  before  he  wrote  the  "  Natural  History  "  the  sun-dial  had 
iiecome  defective,  but  he  could  not  tell  whether  in  consequence 
of  an  earthquake  or  because  the  frequent  floods  of  the  Tiber  had 
made  the  foundations  of  the  obelisk  sink.  The  inscriptions  of 
the  pedestal  (Corpus,  702)  are  exactly  like  those  of  the  obelisk  of 
the  Circus  Maxinnis  now  in  the  Piazza  del  Popolo :  "im]).  Ca'sar 


THE   SUN-DIAL  465 

Augustus  .  .  .  ^gupto  in  potestatem  popvili  romani  redacta,  Soli 
douum  dedit."  Both  came  from  Heliopolis  :  the  one  of  the  Circus, 
23.91  metres  high,  dates  from  the  time  of  Ramses  the  Great ;  the 
one  of  the  Ilorologium,  21.79  metres  high,  from  the  time  of  Psam- 
metik  I.  The  obelisk  was  still  standing  on  its  base-in  the  eighth 
or  ninth  century,  and  the  date  and  the  circumstances  attending 
its  downfall  are  still  a  matter  of  specuhition  (Xormau  Fire  of 
1084?). 

In  the  year  1463,  while  Cardinal  Filippo  Calandrino  was  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  chapel  of  SS.  Philip  and  James  in  S.  Lo- 
renzo in  Lucina  (where  he  was  buried  in  1476),  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  dial  was  laid  bare.  Another  portion  seems  to  have 
come  to  light  from  the  foundations  of  the  chapter-house,  about  the 
time  of  Sixtus  IV.  The  lines  of  gilt  metal  were  still  set  in  their 
marble  g^'ooves ;  and  on  the  border  of  the  dial  there  were  the 
images  of  tlie  winds,  accompanied  by  their  names,  aqvilo,  sep- 
TKXTRio,  BOREAS,  etc.  The  discovery  of  the  obelisk  itself  is  thus 
related  by  La^lius  Podager  (the  gouty)  in  a  marginal  note  to 
^lazochio's  "  Vatic,  cod.,"  f.  11 :  "In  the  time  of  Julius  II.  (1503- 
l.')13),  while  a  certain  barber  was  digging  in  the  garden  of  his 
house  between  S.  Lorenzo  in  Lucina  and  the  house  of  Cardinal 
Grassi,  he  discovered  the  lower  portion  of  an  obelisk  and  its  ped- 
estal, the  inscription  of  which  mentioned  the  conquest  of  Egypt 
by  Augustus.  I  recognized  at  once  in  this  monolith  the  dial 
mentioned  by  Pliny,  and  I  learned  from  people  living  in  that 
neighborhood  that,  every  time  they  had  excavated  the  ground 
for  their  wine-cellars  or  drains,  they  had  come  across  wonderful 
celestial  signs,  beautifully  designed  with  lines  of  metal.  Applica- 
tions were  made  to  Julius  II.  to  have  the  pavement  cleared  and 
the  obelisk  set  up  in  its  former  place,  but  he  was  too  distracted 
by  his  wars  to  mind  these  things.  The  barber  lost  patience  and 
buried  the  pedestal  over  again."  Ligorio  affirms  having  seen 
the  obelisk  under  the  house  of  the  celebrated  banker  Spanocchi. 
Sixtus  V.  gave  a  commission  to  his  architect  Fontana  to  report  on 
the  possibility  of  raising  it  on  its  pedestal,  but  he  found  it  too 
much  damaged  by  fire  to  be  of  any  use.  It  was  examined  for  the 
third  time  about  1666,  when  Athanase  Kircher  proposed  to  Alex- 
ander A^II.  to  set  it  up  in  front  of  S.  IMaria  degli  Angeli.  in  the 
Piazza  di  Termini,  not  yet  incumbered  by  the  granaries  of  Clem- 
ent XL  (170.5).  At  last  Benedict  XIV.,  in  1748,  caused  it  to  be 
brought  to  the  surface,  under  the  skillful  guidance  of  Maestro 
Zabaglia.     Pius  VL  in  1792  restored  the  damaged  portions  with 


466  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

the  granite  of  the  column  of  Antoninus  Pius  (p.  510),  and  set  up 
the  obelisk  in  front  of  the  Cui'ia  Innocenziana,  now  the  House  of 
Parliament.  While  searching  for  tlie  missing  portions,  Zabaglia 
discovered  a  round  stone  1.75  metre  in  diameter,  with  squares, 
triangles,  and  other  geometrical  emblems  engraved  upon  it.  The 
stone  was  removed  to  the  Villa  Valenti  Conzaga,  now  Bonaparte. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  702.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Note 
pomponiane  di  topogr.  rom.  (in  Studii  e  docum.  di  stona  e  divitto,  1882,  p.  55). 

—  Codex  musei  florent .,  7",  f.  103'.  —  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  Cod.  vat.,  3439,  f.  2'. 

—  Giuliauo  da  Sangallo,  Cod.  Siena,  8,  iv.  5.  —  Ridolfino  Venuti,  Cod.  vat., 
9024,  f.  181.  — Angelo  Baiidini,  Dell'  ubelUco  di  Cesare  Aur/usto.     Rome,  1750. 

—  Francesco  Cancellieri,  II  Mercato,  etc.,  p.  170  ;  Colonna  antonina,  p.  24  ; 
Descrizione  delle  carte  cinesi  dellu  villa  Valenti,  p.  14. 

XLIV.  Ara  Pacis  Augusts.  —  Among  the  honors  voted  to 
Augustus  by  the  Senate  in  18  b.  c,  on  the  occasion  of  liis  trium- 
phal return  from  the  Germanic  and  Gaulish  campaigns,  was  the 
erection  of  a  votive  altar  in  the  Curia  itself.  Augustus  refused 
it,  consenting  at  the  same  time  to  the  erection  of  an  altar  in  the 
Campus  Martins  which  should  be  offered  to  Peace.  Its  dedica- 
tion took  place  on  January  30  of  the  same  year.  Judging  from 
the  fragments  which  have  been  brought  to  light  at  various  times 
from  the  foundations  of  the  Palazzo  Fiano  Ottoboni,  at  the  corner 
of  the  Via  del  Corso  and  Via  in  Lucina,  the  Ara  Pacis  was  one  of 
the  most  exquisite  artistic  productions  of  the  Golden  Age.  The 
discoveries  were  made  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  in  1568,  and  in  1859.  Tliree  pieces  were  found  on  the 
fii'st  occasion,  and  removed,  first,  to  the  Palazzo  della  Valle  Ca- 
pranica,  later  on  (1584)  to  the  villa  of  Cardinal  Feixlinando  de' 
JNIedici ;  fifteen  or  twenty  on  the  second,  which  were  purchased 
by  Cardinal  Ricci  di  Montepulciano ;  all  the  rest  on  September  7, 
1859,  in  the  recess  which  the  Palazzo  Fiano  makes  in  the  Via  in 
Lucina  between  n.  16  b  and  16  c.  All  these  fragments,  dispersed 
in  Rome  (Palazzo  Fiano,  Villa  Medici,  Museo  Vaticano),  Florence 
(Uffizi),  and  Paris  (Louvre),  have  been  illustrated  by  Petersen 
in  the  "  Roemischen  JNIittheilungen "  of  1894 ;  he  also  proposes 
a  I'econstruction  of  tlie  monument  from  the  designs  of  V.  Rau- 
scher. 

Literature.  —  Res  gestce,  2d  edit.  (Mommsen),  p.  49.  —  Von  "Dvihn,  Ann. 
Inst.,  1881,  p.  302.  —  Eugene  Petersen,  V  ara  Pacis  augitstm  {in  MittheiL 
1894,  p.  171,  pL  vi). 

XLV.     Opera   S.    Portictts     Octavi.e.  —  The     portico    was 


THE    OPERA    OCTAVI.E  467 

originally  built  by  Q.  Csecilius  Metellus  about  Wl  b.  c.  to  inclose 
the  temples  of  Jupiter  Stator  (?),  the  first  marble  structure  of  its 
kind  in  Rome,  built  by  himself  from  the  designs  of  Hermodoros ; 
and  that  of  Juno  Regina,  erected  by  ^l^^milius  Lepidus  in  178.  In 
the  year  82,  both  the  temples  and  the  colonnade  which  surrounded 
the  sacred  area  were  rebuilt  on  a  scale  of  greater  magnificence  by 


Pig.  183.  —  The  Ara  Pacis  Augustn-  —  Details. 


Augustus,  under  the  name  of  his  sister  Octavia.  Augustus  availed 
himself  of  the  "  manubise  "  of  the  Dalmatic  war,  and  of  the  skill 
of  his  favorite  architects  Sauros  and  Batrachos.  Pliny  says  that, 
as  they  were  denied  the  privilege  of  signing  their  work  with  their 
names,  they  hit  upon  the  device  of  carving  among  the  flutings  of 
the  columns  their  armoiries  parlantes,  a  lizard,  aavpos,  and  a  frog, 
jSorpoxos.  The  same  writer  has  another  anecdote  regarding  the 
statues  of  the  two  gods.  When  the  temples  were  ready  to  receive 
the  statues,  the  porters  by  mistake  placed  the  statue  of  Jupiter  in 


468 


UUBS   SACllA   RHaiONUM  XIV 


Juno's  cella,  and  that  of  Juud.inthe.cella  of  Jupiter.  The  augurs 
to  whom  the  case  was  submitted  decided  that  it  was  the  will  of 
the  gods  tliat  tlieir  images'  should  remain  as  they  were.  There 
are  exquisite  remains, of  [both,  temples  in  or  under  the  houses  Via 
di  S.  Angelo  in  Pescheria,-n.:8  andu.  11 :  those  of  Jupiter  above 
ground,  those  of  Juno:  below ;  but  they  are  allowed  to  remain  in, 
such  a  state  of  neglect  and  filth  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  try 
to  approach  them. 


Fig.  Ib4.  —  The  Aia  I'acis  Augustae  —  Details. 


THE    OPERA    OCTAVIJ£  469 

The  portico  was  in  the  form  of  a  rectangular  double  colonnade, 
with  "  lani,"  or  four-faced  archways,  at  the  four  corners,  and  beau- 
tiful propylaia  on  the  side  fronting  the  temples.  It  measured 
135  metres  in  depth,  115  in  breadth.  On  the  side  opposite  the  pro- 
pylaia, viz.,  behind  the  temples,  there  were  a  "  schola,"  a  curia  for 
the  meeting  of  the  Senate,  and  two  libraries,  one  for  Greek,  one  for 
Latin  works.  The  whole  group  of  buildings,  the  "  Opera  Octavise," 
as  it  was  technically  called,  was  crowded  with  masterpieces ;  and 
in  the  area  in  front  of  the  temples  were  ranged  the  seventy-five 
bronze  equestrian  statues  of  the  generals  and  friends  of  Alexander 
the  Great  who  perished  at  the  ford  of  the  Granikos.  They  were 
the  work  of  Lysippos,  and  had  fallen  a  prey  to  Metellus  at  the 
close  of  the  Macedonian  war.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
beautiful  broiaze  horse  found  in  April,  1849,  in  the  Vicolo  delle 
Palme,  Trastevere,  and  now  in  the  hall  of  Bronzes  of  the  Palazzo 
dei  Conservatori,  originally  formed  part  of  the  herd  exhibited  in 
the  portico  of  Octavia. 

The  temple  of  Jupiter  contained  the  statue  of  Juno  by  Dionysios, 
the  Pan  and  the  Olympus  wrestling,  a  marvelous  group  by  Helio- 
doros,  the  Venus  and  the  Dasdalos  by  Polycharmos,  and  a  Jupiter 
carved  in  ivory  by  Pasiteles.  The  temple  of  Juno  contained  the 
statue  of  Jupiter  by  Polykles  and  Dionysios,  sons  of  Timarchides, 
the  jEsculapius  and  the  Diana  by  Praxiteles,  the  Juno  by  Polykles, 
and  the  Venus  by  Philiskos. 

The  schola  or  "  conversation-hall,"  as  Nibby  calls  it,  contained 
pictures  by  Antiphilos  representing  Hesione,  Alexander,  Philippus, 
and  Athena ;  four  Fauns  by  an  unknown  artist ;  and  a  statue  of 
Cupid  with  the  thunderbolt,  or  rather  of  Alcibiades  under  the 
attributes  of  Cupid,  a  work  attributed  by  some  to  Skopas,  by 
others  to  Praxiteles.  It  was  probably  the  same  Cupid  that  was 
offered  by  Praxiteles  to  Phryne  or  Glycera,  and  by  her  to  the 
city  of  Thespise.  Caligula  brought  the  precious  work  to  Rome  in 
spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  Thespians,  who  said  they  owned 
no  other  work  of  Greek  sculpture.  Claudius  gave  the  masterpiece 
back  to  its  legitimate  owners,  but  Nero  took  it  away  for  the  second 
time.  It  was  consumed  by  the  flames  in  the  fire  of  Titus.  On 
April  13, 1878,  traces  of  another  Greek  masterpiece  were  found  be- 
tween the  propylaia  and  the  temple  of  Jupiter  :  an  oblong  pedes- 
tal (now  in  the  court  of  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori)  bearing  the 
double  inscription  — 


no  URBS   SACRA   REG  J  ON  UM   XIV 

OPVS  •  TISICRATIS 


CORNELIA  •  ArRICANi  •  F 
GRACCORVM 


The  pedestal,  which  measures  1.76  by  1.20  metres,  was  made  to 
support  the  sitting  statue  of  Cornelia,  daughter  of  8cipio  Afri- 
canus,  and  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  a  statue  seen  and  described  by 
Pliny,  xxxiv.  31,  —  "in  Octavise  operibus."  The  fire  of  Titus 
destroyed  all  the  works  of  art  of  the  "  opera,"  the  statue  of  Cornelia 
included,  as  shown  to  the  present  day  by  the  calcination  of  this 
pedestal.  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla,  the  restorers  of  the 
portico,  placed  upon  the  vacant  and  half-chari-ed  support  a  biga 
guided  by  a  woman,  a  joint  work  of  Piston  and  of  Teisikrates  from 
Sicyon,  a  distinguished  pupil  of  Eutykrates.  On  the  alleged  dis- 
covery of  the  Venus  of  the  Medici,  now  in  Florence,  see  Bartoli, 
"  Mem.,"  108.  The  inscription  on  the  entablature  of  the  propylaia 
commemorates  the  restoration  of  the  portico  "  incendio  corruptam," 
made  in  203.  The  portico,  therefore,  had  been  allowed  to  remain 
in  a  ruinous  state  for  the  space  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
years,  which  seems  to  me  hardly  credible. 

Literature. —  Heinrich  .Jordan,  Forma,  p.  34,  plate  v.  n.  ZS.— Corpus 
fnscr.  vol.  vi.  n.  1034,  2347. —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  flnr/c«,  ii.  p.  600. — 
Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Scavi  nel  portico  di  Ottavia  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1878,  p.  209).  — 
Angelo  Contigliozzi  and  Angelo  Pellegrini,  Bull.  Inst.,  1861,  p.  126;  Annal. 
Inst.,  1868,  p.  114;  and  Buonarroti,  serie  ii.  vol.  xi.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig, 
Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  452,  n.  608;  and  p^.  455,  n.  615.  —  Notizie  Scavi,  1878,  p.  93; 
1883,  p.  420;  1888,  p.  27Q.—Bull.  com.,  1888,  p.  132;  1890,  p.  66.  On  the 
orticers  attached  to  the  Greek  and  Latin  libraries,  see  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n. 
4431-4433,  4435,  4461,  5192,  8708. 

The  description  of  the  theatre  of  Marcellus  will  be  found  on 
p.  490,  under  the  head  of  "  Spectacular  Buildings." 

F.  The  Monumenta  Agripp.e. 

XLVI.  This  most  important  monumental  group  of  the  Campus 
Martins  occupied  the  plain  from  the  foot  of  the  Pincian  and  of 
the  Quirinal  to  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  by  the  modern  Ponte  Sisto. 
It  contained  the  Porticus  Pollaj  or  Porticus  Vipsania,  the  remains 
of  which  I  discovered  and  identified  iu  1892  on  the  left  of  the  Via 
Flaminia  (Corso),  between  the  Via  di  S.  Claudio  and  the  Piazza 
di  Sciarra,  vmder  the  (now  destroyed)  Palazzo  Piornbino ;  ^   the 

1  Literature.  — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1892,  p.  272;  and  Itinerario 
di  .Einsiedlen,  p.  35.  — Luigi  Borsari,  Bull,  com.,  1889,  p.  146. 


THE    MONUMENTA    AGRIPP.E  471 

Cainjius  Agrippfc,  which  extended  behind  tlie  portico,  in  the 
direction  of  the  Quirinal ;  ^  and  the  Diribitorium,  an  edifice  where 
the  bulletins  of  voters  on  election  days  were  verified  and  sorted  by 
a  committee  of  nine  hundred  delegates,  —  an  operation  described 
by  the  technical  verb  diribire  (=  dis-hibere).  The  Diribitorium 
was  the  largest  "  roofed  "  hall  in  Rome,  the  trusses  being  composed 
of  larch-beams  from  29.70  to  35.64  metres  long.  Its  position  is 
not  known.  Dion  Cassius  (Ixvi.  24)  mentions  it  among  the  edi- 
fices burnt  to  the  ground  in  the  fire  of  a.  d.  80,  after  the  Pantheon 
and  before  the  theatre  of  Balbus,  and  as  an  absolutely  independent 
l)uilding  from  the  Saepta  lulia  (Iv.  8).  I  believe  it  must  have 
occupied  a  space  on  ground  to  the  right  (east)  of  the  Via  Flami- 
nia  opposite  the  Ssepta,  the  same  on  which  the  Catabxdum,  or 
oftice  for  parcel-post,  was  afterwards  established.- 

The  S^pta  Iulia.  —  In  a  letter  to  Atticus  dated  September  30, 
04  B.  c,  Cicero,  speaking  of  the  projects  of  Caesar  for  the  trans- 
formation of  the  campus,  says :  "  We  expect  to  build  of  marble, 
and  to  cover  with  a  roof  the  space  where  the  comitia  tributa  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  meeting,  surrounding  it  with  a  lofty  portico 
one  mile  [1480  metres]  long,  and  adding  to  it  the  Villa  Publica." 
The  space  where  the  comitia  tributa  had  assembled  up  to  that 
time  was  a  long  strip  of  land  on  the  left  (west)  of  the  Via  Flami- 
nia,  divided  by  palisades  or  ropes  into  as  many  compartments  as 
there  were  electoral  sections  :  thirty  for  the  comitia  curiata,  thirty- 
five  for  the  comitia  tinbuta,  eighty  or  eighty-two  for  the  comitia 
centnriata.  On  the  side  of  the  parallelogram  opposite  the  one  by 
wliich  the  electors  entered  there  was  a  platform  called  "  the  bridge  " 
(pons),  with  as  many  wooden  stairs  of  access  as  there  were  elec- 
toral compartments.  The  president  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  pons, 
while  the  voters,  mai'ching  past  one  by  one,  handed  over  their 
voting  pajier  to  the  rogator. 

Caesar  did  not  live  to  see  his  projects  accomplished ;  after  his 
death  the  works  were  continued  by  M.  Lepidus  the  triumvir,  who 
built  the  portico  jiarallel  with  the  Via  Flaminia.  Agrippa  fin- 
ished it  in  27  b.  c,  under  the  name  of  Scepta  or  Sejjfa  Iulia.  AVith 
the  suppression  of  political  liberties,  the  building  lost  its  impoi-- 
tance :  it  was  used  sometimes  for  the  meeting  of  the  Senate,  more 

1  Literature.  —  Adolf  Becker,  Topnr/raphie,  p.  595.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani, 
Bull,  com.,  1802,  p.  276.  —  Christian  Huelsen,  ihicl.,  1895,  p.  45. 

-  Literature.  — Fedele  Lampertico,  /  Biribitores,  Venice,  1833.  —  Chris- 
tian Huelsen,  Bull,  com.,  1893,  p.  136.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Itinerario  di  Ein- 
siedlen,  p.  38. 


472  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

frequeutly  as  a  place  where  curiosities  were  exhibited  for  sale.  It 
was  restored  twice  after  the  fire  of  Titus,  ouce  by  Domitian,  once 
by  Hadriau.  Remains  of  the  portico  can  be  seen  under  "the 
church  of  S.  Maria  in  Via  and  under  the  Palazzo  Doria-Pamfili. 
The  Ssepta  Julia  began  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  del  Corso  and  the 
Via  del  Caravita,  and  ended  precisely  under  the  side  door  by 
which  the  church  of  S.  Marco  is  entered  from  the  Piazza  di 
Venezia.  An  ancient  well-paved  street,  running  at  right  angles 
from  the  Via  Flaminia  westwards,  was  discovered  under  that  side 
door  in  March,  1875. 

Literature.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Campo  Marzio,  pi.  xxv.;  and  An- 
tichitd  di  Roma,  vol.  iv.  p.  47.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma  Urbis,  p.  34,  pi.  vi. 
n.  34,  35,  36. — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Itinerai-io  di  Einsiedlen,  p.  39.  —  Christian 
Huelsen,  Bull,  com.,  1893,  p.  119,  pis.  vi.,  vii. 

Little  or  nothing  is  known  of  the  Villa  Publica.  It  was  erected 
on  the  south  border  of  the  campus,  between  the  (subsequent  site 
of  the)  Ssepta,  the  Circus  Flaminius,  and  the  cliffs  of  the  Capito- 
line  hiU,  probably  on  the  other  side  of  the  above-named  street 
which  runs  across  the  Palazzo  di  Venezia.  The  villa  was  finished 
in  432  B.  c,  and  used  for  taking  the  census  in  the  same  year.  It 
served  also  for  other  public  business,  which  could  not  be  trans- 
acted within  the  walls,  such  as  the  levying  of  troops,  the  reception 
of  foreign  ambassadors  before  they  obtained  an  audience  from 
the  Senate,  and  of  victorious  generals  awaiting  their  decree  for 
a  triumph.  Publius  Fonteius  Capito  rebuilt  it  at  the  time  of 
Augustus,  to  efface,  perhaps,  the  memory  of  the  wholesale 
slaughter  of  8,000  prisoners  of  war,  the  "  flos  Hesperife,  Latii  iam 
sola  inventus  "  of  Lucanus  (ii.  197),  perpetrated  by  order  of  Sulla 
on  November  4,  82  b.  c.  The  Villa  Publica  was  not  simply  a 
field  shaded  by  trees,  but  contained  splendid  edifices,  which  appear 
in  the  coins  of  the  Didii  and  of  the  Pompeii.  Varro,  who  came 
to  vote  in  the  Ssepta  in  the  elections  of  54  b.  c,  says  that  his 
friend  Q.  Axius  and  himself,  to  avoid  the  scorching  sun  while 
waiting  for  the  i-esults  of  the  scrutiiiy,  retired  under  the  shade  of 
the  trees  of  the  villa. 

The  villa  and  the  Saepta  served  also  for  the  organization  of 
triumphs,  the  pageant  moving  afterwards  in  the  direction  of  the 
Portico  of  Octavia  and  of  the  Porta  Triumphalis  of  the  Servian 
walls,  through  which  the  victorious  general  was  wont  to  enter  the 
city.  It  seems  that  the  portico  under  shelter  of  which  the  pro- 
cession was  organized  took  the  name  of  Portions  Triumphi,  and 
that  it  was  exactly  one  mile  long ;  but  whether  it  is  the  same 


THE   MONUMENTA   AGRIPP^  473 

as  that  mentioned  by  Cicero  in  the  Sfepta,  or  whether  it  belonged 
to  the  viUa,  it  is  not  possible  to  say.  At  all  events  this  Porticus 
Triumphi,  one  mile  long,  became  the  prototype  of  similar  places 
in  Roman  villas  for  taking  a  "  constitutional "  on  foot  {amhulatio) 
or  in  a  lectica  (gestatio).  However,  as  very  few  privileged  ones 
could  afford  to  have  in  their  gardens  or  villas  an  avenue  or  a 
portico  one  mile  long,  it  became  the  fashion  to  put  at  the  entrance 
of  such  ambulationes  or  gestationes  an  advertisement  to  this  effect : 
"  If  you  go  round  ten  times  this  [oval  or  circular]  allee,  you  make 
exactly  one  thousand  paces,  or  five  thousand  feet ; "  or  else,  "  If 
you  go  up  and  down  five  times  in  this  apple  yard,  you  will  cover  a 
mile."  In  progress  of  time  these  private  walks  or  drives  took  the 
regular  name  of  Porticus  Triumphi.  Three  inscriptions  relating 
to  them  have  already  been  found :  one  by  Ficoroni  in  Hadrian's 
villa,^  one  outside  the  Porta  INIetroni  by  IMatranga,  the  third  at 
Baise  by  de  Petra.  The  last  says :  "  This  Porticus  Triumphi  is 
556  feet  long,  1112  if  you  go  back  and  forth  ;  1112  feet  correspond 
to  222  (double)  steps  and  a  half ;  therefore,  if  you  go  five  times 
over  the  same  length  you  will  cover  556  (double)  steps,  over  a 
mile."  This  practice  explains  the  old  proverb,  "  post  csenam  stabis 
aut  passus  mille  meabis." 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  842.  —  Adolf  Becker, 
Topographie,  p.  624.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Notizie  Scnvi,  1888,  p.  709; 
and  Miscellnnen  di  notizie  .  .  .  per  la  topografia,  etc.,  n.  24,  32.  —  Babelon, 
Monn.  de  la  Repuhl.,  Fonteia,  n.  18. 

The  bridge  of  Agrippa,  the  cloacae  by  which  he  drained  the 
lowest  and  dampest  district  of  the  campus,  and  the  aqueduct  of 
the  Virgo  have  been  described  in  their  proper  places.  I  shall 
now  give  an  account  of  the  two  great  creations  of  that  statesman, 
which  still  stand  in  their  glory  among  so  many  ruins  of  the 
Campus  Martins,  —  the  Pantheon  and  the  Neptunium. 

XLVII.  Pantheon.  —  The  Pantheon  of  Agrippa  well  deserves 
the  name  of  the  Sphinx  of  the  Campus  Martins,  because,  in  spite 
of  its  preservation,  it  remains  inexplicable  from  many  points  of 
view.  This  uncertainty  relates  to  the  general  outline  as  well  as 
to  the  details  of  the  building.  The  rotunda  is  obviously  dis- 
jointed from  the  portico,  and  their  architectural  lines  are  not  in 
harmony  with  each  other.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  evident  that 
the  Pantheon  seen  by  Pliny  the  elder,  in  Vespasian's  time,  was 
not  the  one  which  has  come  down  to  us,  because  there  is  no  place 
1  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  xiv.  n.  3695  a. 


474  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

in  the  present  building  for  the  Caryatides  of  Diogenes  the  Athe- 
nian, and  for  the  capitals  of  Syracusan  bronze  which  he  saw  and 
described  as  crowning  the  columns  of  the  temple.  Therefore, 
when  I  was  asked  in  1881  to  write  an  official  account  of  the  ex- 
cavations undertaken  by  Gnido  Baccelli,  the  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  who  freed  the  Pantheon  from  its  ignoble  surround- 
ings,^ I  began  the  report  by  stating  that  the  veil  of  mystery  in 
which  the  monument  was  shrouded  had  by  no  means  been  lifted 
by  these  last  researches,  and  that  perhaps  it  never  would  be.  We 
were  far  from  supposing  that  before  a  few  years  had  elapsed  we 
should  discover  another,  nay,  two  more  Pantheons  under  the  exist- 
ing one,  and  should  be  able  to  -declare  that  Agrippa's  name  en- 
graved on  the  epistyle  of  the  pronaos  is  historically  and  artisti- 
cally misleading. 

To  make  the  case  clear,  I  must  give  a  brief  account  of  the  for- 
tunes of  the  building,  from  Agrippa's  time  to  the  last  restoration 
by  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla. 

There  are  two  witnesses  to  the  origin  of  its  construction :  the 
legend  on  the  face  of  the  building,  m  •  agrippa  •  l  •  f  •  cos  •  ter- 
TiVM  •  FECIT  ;  and  the  record  of  Dion  Cassius,  liii.  27,  "  [Agrippa] 
finished  the  construction  of  the  so-called  Pantheon."  The  date 
of  the  inscription  is  27  b.  c,  while  Dion  relates  the  events  of  the 
year  25.  This  discrepancy  of  dates  may  be  reconciled  if  we  sup- 
pose the  inscription  to  commemorate  the  material  completion 
of  the  structure,  and  the  historian  to  be  recording  the  solemn 
dedication  of  the  Pantheon  and  of  the  Lakonikon,  which  stood 
close  by. 

The  same  histoi'ian  relates  that  the  Pantheon  was  dedicated 
to  the  ancestral  gods  of  the  Julian  family,  namely.  Mars  and 
Venus,  and  that  "  Agrippa  wished  to  raise  a  statue  to  Augustus 
also,  so  that  the  temple  might  be  placed  under  his  protection. 
Augustus,  however,  declined  the  j^roposal.  In  consequence  of 
his  refusal,  only  the  statue  of  Julius  C«sar  was  placed  inside ; 
those  of  Augustus  and  Agrippa  outside  in  the  pronaos." 

From  this  passage  we  gather  the  evidence  that  Agrippa's 
temple  was  furnished  with  a  i^ortico  or  pronaos.  Now,  as  I 
remarked  at  the  beginning,  between  the  present  rotunda  and  the 
portico  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  founder  there  is  no  artistic 
or  structural  connection.     The  cornices  of  the  round  body  are  cut 

1  II  Pantheon  e  le  Terme  di  Ar/i-ippn.  Prima  relazione  a  sua  Eccellenza 
il  Miuistro  della  Istruzione  pubblica.  Rome,  Salviucci,  October,  1881.  Ibid., 
Seconda  relazione,  August,  1882. 


THE   PANTHEON  475 

up  by  the  portico,  while  those  of  the  portico  are  intercepted  by 
the  round  body.  There  is  a  break  between  the  two,  five  and  a 
half  centimetres  wide,  through  which  the  light  shines.  This  state 
of  things  has  been  discussed  by  Milizia,  Fontana,  Piranesi,  Lazzeri, 
Hirt,  Fea,  Piale,  Nibby,  and  Canina.  The  majority  believe,  and  I 
believed  with  them  in  1881,  that  the  portico  was  a  later  addition ; 
in  other  words,  that  before  the  refusal  of  Aiigustus  to  permit  his 
statue  to  stand  within  the  temple,  Agrippa's  architect  had  not 
thought  of  the  portico,  and  that  it  was  added  by  him  when  the 
Emperor  selected  for  his  own  statue  a  site  outside  the  rotunda. 

No  less  debatable  is  the  relation  between  the  Pantheon  and 
the  Thermaj  of  Agrippa.  Regarding  this  architects  and  archaeo- 
logists are  divided  into  two  groups.  Some  believe  that  the 
rotunda  belongs  to  the  original  plan  of  the  baths,  and  that  it  was 
designed  for  a  "caldarium;  "  others  deny  any  connection  between 
the  two.  It  is  interesting,  in  view  of  the  light  now  thrown  on 
this  subject,  to  recall  what  Emil  Braun  wrote  forty-two  years  ago  : 
"  The  incomparable  circular  edifice  originally  intended  by  Agrippa 
to  form  the  termination  of  the  Therms,  with  which  it  is  intimately 
coimected,  is  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  perfect  productions  of 
that  style  of  architecture  specifically  denominated  Roman.  When 
the  first  wonderful  creation  of  this  species  came  into  existence, 
the  designei'  of  this  glorious  dome  appears  to  have  himself  shrunk 
back  from  it,  and  to  have  felt  that  it  was  not  adapted  to  be  the 
every-day  residence  of  men,  but  to  be  a  habitation  for  the  gods. 
It  is  as  difficult  to  reconcile  the  statements  of  different  authors 
respecting  the  original  idea  of  Agrippa  as  it  is  hazardous  to 
attempt  to  prove  the  successive  metamorphoses  which  the  plan 
sketched  by  the  artist  has  undergone.  This  much  is,  however, 
certain  :  that  with  respect  to  the  modal  transformation  of  the 
whole  the  consequences  have  been  most  melancholy  and  injurious. 
The  combination  of  the  circular  edifice  with  the  rectilinear  masses 
of  the  vestibule  .  .  .  has  been  unsuccessful,  and  the  original 
design  of  the  Roman  architect  has  lost  much  of  its  significance. 
.  .  .  No  one  previously  unacquainted  with  the  edifice  could  form 
an  idea,  from  the  aspect  of  the  portico,  of  that  wonderful  structure 
behind,  which  must  ever  be  considered  as  one  of  the  noblest 
triumphs  of  the  human  mind  over  matter  in  connection  with  the 
law  of  gravit3^" 

Eheu,  (jiiantum  mutatus  ab  Ula  !  How  differently  we  are  obliged 
to  sjieak  and  write  after  these  last  discoveries.  At  the  same  time, 
the  reader  will  notice  that  Emil  Braun  himself,  in  1854,  considered 


476  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  wrest  from  the  Sphinx  of  the 
Campus  Martins  the  secret  of  its  existence  and  metamorphoses. 
We  kiiow  a  great  deal  more  now,  but  the  difficulties  remain  the 
same. 

The  Thermae  were  built  six  years  after  the  dedication  of  the 
Pantheon  and  of  the  Lakonikon  ;  namely,  in  19  b.  c.  It  appears 
also  that  in  this  second  period  of  the  great  undertaking  Agrippa 
must  have  changed  his  mind  more  than  once.  At  all  events, 
after  the  year  19  we  hear  no  more  of  the  Lakonikon,  but  only  of 
the  Thermae.  Was  the  Pantheon  connected  directly  or  indirectly 
with  the  baths,  or  did  it  stand  by  itself,  alone,  indei^endent,  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  quadrangle?  In  other  words,  is  it  possible 
that  the  Pantheon,  originally  dedicated  to  the  gods,  should  have 
been  used,  six  years  later,  as  a  caldarium,  and  thus  have  been  ab- 
sorbed as  an  integral  part  of  the  great  whole  ?  The  question  must 
remain  unanswered  ;  so  many  alterations  have  taken  place  at  the 
point  of  contact  between  the  rotunda  and  the  baths  that  nothing 
is  left  of  the  first  design.  No  other  Koman  structure,  except  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus,  has  been  so  unfortunate,  and 
has  undergone  so  many  trials. 

In  the  year  80,  during  the  fire  of  Titus,  the  baths  and  the 
Pantheon  were  burnt  down.  Domitian  restored  both.  In  110, 
under  the  rule  of  Trajan,  a  thunderbolt  set  the  building  on  fire, 
and  destroyed  it  to  the  level  of  the  ground.  How  such  a  thing 
could  have  happened  is  a  mystery,  to  be  added  to  the  many  others 
connected  with  this  structure.  In  the  years  120-124  Hadi-ian 
reconstructed  the  rotunda  and  the  baths,  as  shown  by  his  biogra- 
pher, ch.  19.  Some  other  dreadful  accident  must  have  happened 
soon  after,  for  Hadrian's  successor,  Antoninus  Pius,  is  said  to  have 
restored  templum  Agrippce.  In  the  year  202  Septimius  Severus 
and  Caracalla  PANTHEVM  VETVSTATE  corrvptvm  restitvervnt. 
These  words,  engraved  on  the  same  entablature  which  is  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  the  founder,  are  more  than  enigmatic.  How  is 
it  possible  that  a  structure  of  immense  solidity,  only  eighty  years 
old  if  we  reckon  from  the  restoration  of  Hadrian,  fifty  or  sixty  if 
we  reckon  from  the  restoration  of  Antoninvis,  should  have  become 
in  so  short  a  time  "  vetustate  corrupta "  ?  It  may  help  us  to 
explain  the  fact  if  we  assume  that,  while  the  upper  part  of  the 
Pantheon  was  often  struck  by  lightning  and  attacked  by  fire,  the 
lower  part  was  siibmerged  by  the  Tiber  three  or  four  times  a  year. 
Fire  and  water  must  have  increased  tenfold  the  destructive  power 
of  time. 


THE   PANTHEON 


477 


Summing  up  the  information  supplied  to  us  by  writers  and 
inscriptions,  we  had  come  to  the  following  inferences,  which  were 
hypotheses  rather  than  conclusions  :  first,  that  the  present  Pan- 
theon, inscribed  with  the 
name  of  Agrippa,  was  sub- 
stantially his  work ;  sec- 
ond, that  the  portico  was 
a  later  addition  to,  or  al- 
teration of,  the  original 
plan  ;  third,  that  some  de- 
tails of  the  structure,  espe- 
cially the  inner  decoration, 
were  the  work  of  Hadrian 
and  of  Severus  and  Cara- 
calla ;  fourth,  that  the  Pan- 
theon had  never  been  used 
as  a  caldarium.  Such  were 
the  current  theories  at  the 
beginning  of  189'2. 

At  that  time  the  Depart- 
ment of  Antiquities  was 
raising  a  movable  scaffold- 
ing to  repair  the  dome  in 
two  or  three  places,  where 
rain-water  had  filtered  in 
and  damaged  the  coating 
of  stucco.  A  distinguished 
pupil  of  the  French  Acad- 
emy (Villa  Medici),  Louis 
Chedanne,  then  engaged  in  the  architectural  study  of  the  Panthe- 
on, was  allowed  by  the  department  to  take  advantage  of  the  scaf- 
folding and  to  examine  the  structure  of  the  great  dome.  He  was 
surprised  to  find  it  built  of  bricks  stamped  with  a  date  (Agrip- 
pa's  bricks  are  not  dated) ;  and  the  date  was  of  the  time  of  Ha- 
drian. It  was  felt  to  be  desirable  to  ascertain  at  once  whether 
these  bricks  belonged  to  a  local  and  unimportant  restoration  of  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century,  or  whether  they  bore  testimony 
to  the  chronology  of  the  whole  edifice. 

The  masonry  of  the  rotunda,  like  that  of  Hadrian's  mausoleum, 
is  faced  with  small  triangular  bricks,  and  with  rows  of  tegulae 
bipedales  at  intervals  of  five  feet,  one  above  the  other.  (See  p.  47.) 
Since  these  tegulte  bipedales  are  dated,  as  a  rule,  holes  were  bored 


Fig.  186.  —The  Pantheon  flooded  by  the  Tiber. 

(From  a  water-color  by  Pannini,  in  possession  of 
the  author.) 


478  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

into  them  in  about  fifty  places,  and  as  many  brick-stamps  were 
found ;  some  on  the  outside  facing,  others  in  the  thickness  of  the 
wall,  in  the  foundations,  in  tlie  dome,  in  the  staircases,  in  the 
arches  and  vaults  ;  in  short,  wherever  the  search  was  made. 

The  dates  vary  from  a.  d.  115  to  125.  I  mean,  they  are  the 
dates  of  tilers  who  produced  bricks  between  those  dates.  A 
stricter  chronological  investigation,  too  minute  and  technical  to 
be  recorded  in  these  pages,  has  enabled  us  to  ascertain  that  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Pantheon  began  in  the  year  120,  and  was 
finished  in  124.  It  was  absolute,  complete,  from  the  lowest  depths 
of  the  foundations  to  the  skylight  of  the  dome ;  it  included  the 
rotunda  as  well  as  the  portico,  whose  foundations  have  also  been 
explored  to  a  depth  never  reached  before.  In  short,  the  present 
Pantheon,  the  world-known  masterpiece,  —  counted  by  Ammianus 
Marcellinus  among  the  wonders  of  Rome,  considered  by  Michel- 
angelo "disegno  angelico  e  non  umano,"  proclaimed  by  Urban 
VIII.  "fedificium  toto  terrarum  orbe  celeberrimum,"  ^  —  is  not  the 
work  of  Agrippa,  whose  name  it  bears,  but  the  work  of  Hadrian. 
The  fact,  however  startling,  is  confirmed  by  other  evidence,  to 
whicli  little  or  no  attention  has  been  paid.  In  a  pamphlet  entitled 
"  Conclusione  per  la  integrita  del  Pantheon,"  Rome,  1807,  Carlo 
Fea,  then  Commissioner  of  Antiquities,  describes  how,  on  Septem- 
ber 13, 1804,  he  found  three  brick-stamps  of  the  time  of  Hadrian,  — 
one  in  the  thickness  of  the  round  wall,  one  under  the  flagstones 
of  the  portico,  one  in  the  so-called  Lakonikon.  Piranesi,  who  wit- 
nessed the  barbaric  "  restorations "  of  Benedict  XIV.  in  1747, 
read  likewise  on  the  brick  of  the  attic  other  names  and  dates  of 
the  same  period. 

We  must  now  meet  the  question  which  at  once  confronts  us  in 
this  new  state  of  things.  In  rebuilding  the  Pantheon  in  its 
entirety,  from  top  to  bottom,  from  the  steps  of  the  portico  to  the 
small  apse  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  structure,  did  Hadrian 
respect  the  architectural  form  of  Agrippa's  (and  Domitian's) 
building,  or  did  he  erect  a  new  structure  of  his  own  design,  alto- 
gether different  in  general  outline  and  details?  The  following 
considerations  may  help  the  student  to  unravel  the  tangle. 

If  we  read  on  the  face  of  the  Pantheon  the  names  of  Agi-ippa, 
the  founder,  and  of  Septimius  Severus,  the  restorer  in  202  b.  c, 
and  not  that  of  Hadrian,  the  explanation  is  ready  at  hand.  "  Ha- 
drian never  inscribed  his  name  on  the  monuments  which  he 
designed  and  raised,  with  the  exception  only  of  the  temple  which 
1  See  inscriptiiin  on  the  vestibule. 


THE   PANTHEON  479 

he  dedicated  to  Trajan,"  at  the  northern  end  of  the  Forum.  So 
says  his  biographer  in  ch.  19.  The  omission  of  the  name  is  thus 
easily  explained.  Some  one,  however,  has  succeeded  in  finding  it 
inside  the  rotunda.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  Archaeological 
Academy  by  Stefano  Piale,  June  26,  1828,^  I  find  the  following 
passage :  — 

"  I  have  been  kindly  informed  by  our  secretary,  Filippo  Aui-elio 
Visconti,  that  when  the  tribune  (the  main  altar  and  apse)  of  the 
rotunda  was  restored,  a  short  time  ago,  the  name  of  Julia  Sabina, 
the  Empress  of  Hadrian,  was  found  engraved  on  the  columns  of 
pavonazzetto.  This  confirms  the  theory  which  I  have  long  held, 
that  the  apse  does  not  belong  to  the  original  structure,  but  is  the 
work  of  Hadrian.  He  made  use  of  it  as  a  bench,  when  he,  together 
with  other  magistrates,  sat  in  the  Pantheon  to  administer  justice 
and  dictate  the  law,  as  we  are  told  by  Dion  Cassias." 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  these  remarkable  statements 
is  that  the  inscription  on  the  face  of  the  building,  which  we  had 
always  supposed  to  be  the  "signature,"  as  it  were,  of  the  first 
builder  of  the  Pantheon,  must  be  considered  simply  as  homage 
paid  to  his  memory  by  some  one  who  did  the  work  over  a  century 
and  a  half  later.  This  unknown  person  was  a  great  artist,  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  word,  a  worthy  rival  of  the  great  ApoUodoros, 
the  builder  of  the  Forum  of  Trajan.  The  Temples  of  Veiuis  and 
Kome,  of  Matidia,  of  Trajan,  of  Neptune,  designed  and  built  by 
Hadrian,  his  own  mausoleum,  the  bridge  which  leads  to  it,  count 
among  the  architectural  masterpieces  of  ancient  Rome.  To  a  man 
possessed  of  such  genius  the  rebuilding  of  the  Pantheon  must  have 
proved  an  almost  irresistible  temptation  to  show  his  power ;  it  is 
more  than  probable,  therefore,  that  the  original  design  would  have 
been  changed,  enlarged,  improved.  This  supposition,  namely,  that 
the  pre-Hadrianite  structure  was  different  in  shape,  size,  material, 
etc.,  seems  to  be  supported  by  the  record  of  the  two  fires  in  the 
times  of  Titus  and  Trajan.  The  present  building  is  absolutely 
fire-proof ;  ^  therefore  the  Pantheon  of  Agrippa  and  of  Domitian, 
wrecked  by  fire  in  the  years  80  and  110,  must  have  been  different 
from  that  of  Hadrian  and  Septimius  Severus,  which  does  not  con- 
tain one  inch  of  inflammable  matter. 

To  pass  from  theory  to  fact,  from  speculation  to  substantial  evi- 
deHce,  there  was  but  one  way  left  open :  to  make  a  search  under 

1  Uii  momimenlo  .  .  .  delta  basilica  di  S.  Paolo.     Rome,  1828. 
-  Tlie  wooden  fraiuework  of  the  roof  of  the  portico  is  an  innovation  of  the 
seventeentli  century;  the  original  trusses  were  cast  in  bronze. 


480  URBS   SACRA    REGION UM   XIV 

the  rotunda  and  its  portico.  The  work  has  been  carefully  carried 
out  by  all  concerned  with  it,  but  the  results  are  rather  disappoint- 
ing :  they  have  led  only  to  greater  confusion  and  uncertainty. 

First  as  to  the  interior  of  the  rotunda.  The  excavations  made 
in  a  line  from  the  centre  to  the  chapel  of  the  Madonna  del  Sasso, 
and  also  from  the  centre  to  the  entrance  gate,  have  shown  the 
existence  of  an  earlier  marble  pavement  at  the  average  depth  of 
six  feet  under  the  present  one  (Hadrian's).  The  pavement  is  com- 
posed of  a  bed  of  concrete,  over  which  are  laid  slabs  of  giallo  antico 
and  pavonazzetto,  marbles  which  were  used  in  this  form  and  for 
such  purpose  only  under  the  Empire.  The  pavement  is  not  hori- 
zontal, but  slopes  from  the  centre  towards  the  circumference,  like 
the  lower  floor  of  the  arena  of  the  Coliseum.  The  pavement, 
therefore,  belongs  to  a  circular  space  open  to  rain ;  and  a  cii'cular 
wall,  built  of  reticulated  masonry,  has  actually  been  discovered 
around  the  j^resent  structure,  to  which  it  is  concentric.  It  is 
marked  in  red  in  Fig.  185.  The  same  pavement  has  been  found 
running  under  the  portico,  at  a  depth  of  five  feet.  The  bed  of  con- 
crete is  one  foot  thick ;  the  marble  slabs  from  two  to  three  inches. 

As  regards  the  portico  itself  —  under  and  near  which  the  exca- 
vations have  been  carried  on  with  much  more  freedom  than  those 
inside  —  it  has  been  found  to  rest  on  a  magnificent  substructure  of 
travertine,  much  larger  and  of  different  design  (marked  also  in  red 
in  Fig.  185).  The  level  of  the  platform  is  nearly  eight  feet  lower 
than  the  floor  of  Hadrian's  portico,  and  between  the  two  there  are 
traces  of  an  intermediate  one. 

It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  make  this  account  clear  without  the 
help  of  plans  and  diagrams.  However,  summing  up  the  facts 
which  I  have  tried  to  describe,  and  the  results  of  the  search  made 
by  the  Department  of  Antiquities,  we  reach  the  following  con- 
clusions. 

(1)  The  present  Pantheon,  portico  included,  is  not  the  work  of 
Agrippa,  but  of  Hadrian,  and  dates  from  A.  d.  120-124. 

(2)  The  columns,  capitals,  and  eiitablature  of  the  portico  in- 
scribed with  Agrippa's  name  may  be  original,  and  may  date  from 
27-25  B.  c. ;  but  they  were  first  removed  and  then  put  together 
again  by  Hadrian.  The  original  portico  was  decastyle,  as  shown 
by  the  foundations  of  travertine,  which  project  right  and  left  of 
the  present  octostyle  portico  enough  to  admit  one  more  interco- 
lumniation  at  each  end  (see  plan). 

(3)  The  original  structure  of  Agrippa  was  rectangular  instead 
of  round,  and  faced  the  south  instead  of  the  north.     It  resembled 


THE   PANTHEON  481 

in  shape  the  Temple  of  Concord,  that  is  to  say,  the  facade  was  on 
one  of  the  longer  sides  of  the  parallelogram,  and  not  on  one  of  the 
smaller.  This  shape  is  special  to  the  Augustea,  and  the  Pantheon 
belonged  to  this  class  of  buildings. 

(4)  In  front  of  the  rectangular  temple  opened  a  round  space, 
inclosed  by  a  wall  of  reticulated  work  and  paved  with  slabs  of 
giallo  and  pavonazzetto.  The  wall  can  still  be  seen  at  the  level  of 
the  foundations  of  Hadrian's  rotunda,  with  which  it  is  concentric. 

(5)  The  platform,  built  of  huge  blocks  of  travertine,  some  eight 
feet  below  Hadrian's  level,  dates  from  the  time  of  Agrippa. 

(6)  The  intermediate  marble  floor  (from  two  to  three  feet  higher 
than  Agrippa's,  from  five  to  six  feet  lower  than  Hadrian's)  dates 
most  likely  from  the  time  of  Domitian. 

(7)  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla  did  not  alter  the  shape  of 
the  structui-e.  Their  restorations  were  only  superficial,  and  relate 
mostly  to  the  attic  inside,  which  they  incrusted  with  slabs  of  por- 
phyry and  serpentine.  Their  beautiful  decorations  were  destroyed 
by  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  in  1747. 

(8)  If  the  outside  architecture  of  Hadrian's  rotunda  is  rather 
coarse,  and  not  worthy  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the  interior,  we 
must  remember  that  the  round  body  —  the  front  excepted  —  was 
entirely  concealed  and  made  invisible  by  the  therma?. 

The  history  of  the  building,  from  its  last  restoration  in  a.  d.  202 
to  our  own  time,  is  too  well  known  to  be  narrated  again  in  these 
pages.  I  shall  mention  two  episodes  only :  one  relating  to  the 
destruction  of  the  roof  of  the  portico  by  Pope  Barberini,  the  other 
to  the  discovery  of  Raphael's  body  in  1833. 

Giacinto  Gigli,  a  diarist  contemporary  with  Urban  VIII.,  thus 
describes  his  shameful  action  :  "  In  1625,  while  the  war-cry  was 
raised  from  one  end  of  the  peninsula  to  the  other.  Urban  VIII. 
made  a  great  provision  of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  more  especially 
of  artillery.  To  provide  himself  with  a  copious  stock  of  '  materia 
prima,'  he  caused  the  portico  of  the  Pantheon  to  be  stripped  of 
its  bronze  roof,  a  marvelous  work,  resting  on  the  capitals  of  the 
columns.  But  no  sooner  was  the  destruction  accomplished  than 
he  found  the  alloy  of  the  metal  not  hard  enough  for  casting  guns.^ 
Meanwhile,  the  population,  who  flocked  in  great  numbers  to  see 
what  was  being  done  at  the  Pantheon,  were  deeply  grieved,  and 
urged  that  such  a  beautiful  work  of  antiquity,  the  only  one  which 
had  escaped  plunder  from  the  barbarians,  should  not  now  be  dis- 
mantled.    But  the  intention  of  the  pope  was  not  to  destroy  the 

1  Gigli  affirms  that  the  metal  "was  copiously  mixed  with  silver  and  gold." 


482 


URBS   SACRA   REG  I  ON  UM   XIV 


Pantheon :  he  gave  orders  for  the  construction  of  a  new  roof,  and 
showed  his  willingness  to  make  other  improvements.  The  weight 
of  the  metal  stored  in  the  apostolic  foundry  was  450,251  pounds, 
of  which  440,877  represented  tlie  weight  of  the  beams,  9374  that 
of  the  nails  alone.  Besides  the  four  columns  of  the  baldaccluno 
in  S.  Peter's,  eighty  guns  were  cast  from  it,  and  mounted  on  the 
bastions  of  Castel  S.  Angelo." 


Fig.  187.  —The  Pantheon  at  the  time  of  Urban  VIII.  (1C25). 

The  story  about  the  casting  of  the  four  columns  of  the  baldac- 
cluno is  not  correct :  the  bronze,  save  a  few  thousand  pounds,  was 
all  absorbed  by  the  guns  of  Castello.  Giano  Nicio  Eritreo,  another 
eye-witness,  tlius  speaks  of  the  event :  "  Our  good  pontiff,  Urban 
VIII.,  could  not  bear  the  idea  that  such  a  mass  of  metal,  intended 
for  loftier  j)urposes,  should  humble  itself  to  the  office  of  keeping 
off  forever  the  rain  from  the  portico  of  the  Pantheon.  He  raised 
it  to  worthier  destinies,  because  it  is  becoming  that  such  noble 
material  shoidd  keep  oft'  the  enemies  of  the  Church  rather  than  the 
rain.  At  all  events,  Agrippa's  temple  has  gained  more  than  it  has 
lost,  because  Pope  Urban  VIII.  has  provided  it  with  a  much  better 
roof"  (tectum  multo  quam  antea  eleganttus). 

Carlo  Fea  has  discovered  among  the  accounts  of  the  pope's 
treasury  that  concerning  the  fate  of  the  bi-onze.     Tlie  casting  of 


THE   PANTHEON 


483 


the  eighty  guns  (homhanlf)  used  up  410,778  pounds,  worth  67,260 
scudi.  The  snuill  traction  that  was  left  was  handed  over  to  the 
Apostolic  Chamber  and  used  for  other  purposes.  The  metal  for 
the  baldacchino  was  supplied  from  A^enice. 


Fig.  188.  — The  Bronze  Trusses  of  the  Prouaos  of  tlie  Pantheon,  from  a  Sketch  by  Dosio. 

I  have  found  in  the  Uffizi  in  Florence,  and  in  other  private  col- 
lections, a  set  of  drawings  by  Sallustio  Peruzzi,  Sebastiano  Serlio, 
Giovanni  Antonio  Dosio,  Jacopo  Sansovino,  and  Cherubino  Al- 
berti,  which  show  the  construction  of  the  bronze  trus,ses  in  their 
minutest  details.  The  main  beams  were  composed  of  three  sheets, 
two  vertical,  one  horizontal,  riveted  together  in  this 
shape.     The  beams  as  well  as  the  heads  of  the  nails    \f^  =j] 

were  ornamented  with  gilt  rosettes.  One  of  the  nails  ""'  '"''  ' 
was  presented  as  a  souvenir  to  the  Duke  of  Alcala 
and  was  placed  in  the  private  museum  of  that  dis- 
tinguished statesman.  I  have  also  discovered  docu- 
ments which  prove  that  the  bronze  doors,  so  often 
brought  forward  as  a  specimen  of  antique  workmanship,  were 
practically  cast  over  at  the  time  of  Pius  IV. 

The  second  and  latest  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Pantheon 
is  the  discovery  of  the  remains  of  Raphael,  which  took  place  on 


484  L^RBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM    XIV 

September  14,  1833.  The  search  began  in  the  early  morning  of 
September  9,  in  the  presence  of  a  committee  of  eminent  artists, 
prelates,  and  public  notaries.  It  took  five  days  to  remove  the 
massive  masonry  of  the  altar  and  to  reach  the  arcosolium  under 
the  statue  of  the  Madonna  del  Sasso,  the  place  distinctly  men- 
tioned by  Vasari  in  Raphael's  biography  as  well  as  in  Lorenzetto 
Lotti's.  "  Raphael  provided  in  his  will  for  the  restoration  of  one 
of  the  antique  tabernacles  in  the  chui'ch  of  S.  Maria  Rotonda, 
and  expressed  the  wish  to  be  bitried  in  it,  under  the  new  altar, 
and  under  a  marble  statue  of  Our  Lady."  In  the  "  Life  of  Lo- 
renzetto "  he  adds :  "  In  execution  of  Raphael's  M'ill,  he  modeled  a 
marble  statue  four  cubits  high,  to  be  placed  over  his  tomb  in  S. 
Maria  Rotonda,  in  the  tabernacle  restored  at  his  expense." 

The  arcosolium  appears  to  have  been  built  in  a  hurry,  together 
with  the  wall  which  sealed  its  opening  —  a  particular  which  agrees 
well  with  the  account  of  the  burial.  Raphael  died  in  the  night 
between  Good  Friday  and  Easter  Eve  (1.520).  His  remains  were 
laid  to  rest  on  the  following  night,  and  the  wall  which  seals  the 
opening  of  the  crypt  must  have  been  finished  before  dawn ;  that 
is  to  say,  before  the  Easter  office  began.  Every  kind  of  material 
was  used  in  it,  bricks,  tufa,  travertine,  and  chips  of  porphyry  and 
serpentine. 

At  noon  of  September  14,  1833,  the  last  stone  was  removed,  and 
the  excited  assembly  beheld  for  the  first  time  the  remains  of  the 
"  divine  painter."  They  were  lying  in  a  coffin  made  of  deal  boards 
nailed  with  small  iron  nails.  It  seems  that  the  waters  of  the 
Tiber,  by  which  the  Pantheon  is  periodically  inundated,  had 
filtered  into  the  tomb,  in  si^ite  of  its  being  surrounded  by  a  wall 
two  feet  thick,  and  had  caused  the  wooden  coffin  to  decay,  and  the 
bones  to  be  covered  by  a  layer  of  mud.  Tlie  first  bones  to  appear 
were  the  right  scapula  and  the  crest  of  the  right  ilium.  At  2.25 
p.  M.  Gaspare  Servi  announced  the  discovery  of  the  skull,  the  lead- 
ing feature  of  which  was  a  double  set  of  strong,  healthy,  shining 
teeth.  At  2.30  Baron  Camuccini,  the  painter,  made  a  jsencil  sketch 
of  the  skeleton,  which  shows  that  the  body  had  been  laid  to  rest 
well  composed,  with  hands  crossed  on  the  breast,  and  the  face 
looking  up  towards  the  Madonna  del  Sasso,  as  if  imploring  from 
her  the  peace  of  the  just.  The  size  of  the  skeleton,  from  the 
vertex  of  the  skull  to  the  protuberance  of  the  heel,  was  measured 
by  means  of  a  wooden  compass  of  the  kind  used  by  marble-cutters  : 
it  was  given  at  1664  millimetres,  exactly  eight  times  the  measure 
of  the  head.    The  sceletognosis,  or  expert  examination  of  the  bones, 


THE   PANTHEON 


485 


was  made  by  the  "  last  of  the  Frangipani,"  the  learned  surgeon 
Baron  Antonio  Trasmondo.  Among  the  peculiarities  described 
in  his  report,  there  is  a  "  great  roughness  of  the  thumb,"  which  is 
characteristic  of  painters. 

The  mud  which  filled  the  arcosolium  was  sifted  most  carefully, 


Fig.  189.  —  The  Remains  of  Raphael,  discovered  September  14,  1833. 
(From  a  contemporary  drawiug.) 

with  no  result  worthy  of  notice.  The  missing  tooth  of  the  lower 
jaw  (the  last  molar  on  the  left)  was  not  found.  There  were,  how- 
ever, some  tags  and  small  rings  for  lacings,  which  proves  that 
Raphael  was  buried  in  his  official  robe  of  "  cubicularius  ponti- 
ficis,"  a  design  of  which  is  given  by  some  contemporary  painters. 

After  being  exposed  in  a  glass  case  for  some  days,  Raphael's 
remains  were  again  buried  under  the  Madonna  del  Sasso,  near 
those  of  Maria  da  Bibiena,  his  betrothed,  the  niece  of  the  well- 
known  Cardinal  Bernardo  Divizio,  as  the  inscription  over  the 
girl's  grave  says  :  l.etos  hymeneos  morte  pr^evertit,  et  ante 

NUPTIALES    FACES    VIRGO    EST   ELATA. 


The  ]3roposal  to  demolish  the  houses  which  surrounded  the  Pan- 
theon on  three  sides,  concealed  its  proportions,  and  destroyed  its 


486  URBS    SACRA    REG  I  ON  UM   XIV 

architectural  effect,  dates  from  the  age  of  Pomponius  Letus,  who 
complains  of  the  state  of  things  in  his  "  Dialogues."  Eugenius 
IV.  lowered  the  rubbish  accumulated  against  the  portico,  and 
paved  the  piazza  and  the  adjoining  streets.  Urban  VIII.,  having 
stripped  the  roof  of  the  portico  of  its  bronze  beams,  restored  the 
east  corner  of  the  colonnade,  and  destroyed  the  shops  built  between 
the  granite  pillars.  Alexander  VII.  put  two  columns  from  the 
baths  of  Nero  (found  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Luigi  de'  Francesi)  in 
place  of  those  missing,  and  pulled  down  some  houses  from  which 
the  canons  of  the  Rotonda  derived  an  income  of  1500  scudi  a  year. 
Pius  VII.  demolished  the  booths  of  fishmongers  which  surrounded 
the  fountain.  Pius  IX.  in  1854  carried  the  demolition  of  the 
houses  as  far  as  the  Palazzo  Vittori-Bianchi  on  the  corner  facing 
the  Minerva.  The  city  of  Rome  in  1876  cut  away  one  half  of  the 
Crescenzi  and  Aldobraudini  palaces.  The  minister  of  public  in- 
struction, Guido  Baccelli,  brought  the  matter  to  a  close  in  1882, 
at  a  cost  of  over  £30,000.  The  works  were  inaugurated  on  July 
1,  1881,  and  completed  in  the  following  January.  Houses  and 
palaces  of  150  metres  frontage  were  demolished,  two  thousand 
square  metres  of  Agrippa's  baths  excavated,  two  thirds  of  the 
Pantheon  restored  to  view,  and  many  thousand  metres  of  debris 
carted  away. 

The  literature  on  the  Pantheon  up  to  1881  is  given  by  the  Notizie  Scavi, 
1881,  p.  256  ;  after  that  date  by  Huelsen,  Nomendator,  p.  49.  The  latest 
work  is  Giovanni  Eroli's  Raccolta  f/enerale  delle  iscrisioni  nel  Pantheon  di 
Roma.     Narni,  Petrignani,  1895. 

XL VIII.  The  name  of  Lakonikon  has  been  given  to  the 
beautiful  hall  laid  bare  by  Baccelli  at  the  back  of  the  Pantheon 
towards  the  Via  della  Palombella,  but  it  is  not  certain  whether  we 
are  right  in  applying  it.  The  hall,  which  extends  under  the  street 
and  under  the  Palazzo  della  Accademia  Ecclesiastica  for  a  length 
of  45  metres  and  a  depth  of  19,  seems  to  me  more  a  frigidarium 
of  the  baths  of  the  time  of  Hadrian  than  an  original  work  of 
Agrippa.  The  hall  has  sixteen  niches  for  statues,  and  a  tribune 
for  a  group  of  great  size,  back  to  back  with  the  apse  of  the  Pan- 
theon. The  ceiling  was  supported  by  four  fluted  columns  of  pa- 
vonazzetto  and  four  of  red  granite.  The  frieze,  of  which  many 
fragments  vs^ere  found  and  replaced  in  situ,  is  a  marvel  of  art,  pro- 
bably of  the  time  of  Agrippa. 

This  hall  was  excavated  for  the  first  time  (?)  during  the  stay 
in  Rome  of  Giovanni  Alberti,  whose  drawings  are  the  best  that 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   NEPTUNE  487 

we  have.  It  seems  that  when  the  ceiling  of  tliis  hall  gave  way, 
and  thundei'ed  down  with  a  sudden  crash,  some  one  who  happened 
to  be  underneath  was  crushed  to  death.  The  bones  of  this  poor 
fellow,  who  had  probably  selected  the  ruins  of  Agrippa's  baths 
for  his  dwelling,  were  found  in  December,  1881,  under  a  piece 
of  the  cornice  weighing  many  tons.  Not  far  from  this  strange 
grave  an  earthern  vase  was  discovered  containing  about  2,000  coins 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  This  is  perhaps  the  date  of  the  final 
collapse  of  Agrippa's  baths.  There  are  other  indifferent  remains 
visible  in  the  Via  dell'  Arco  della  Ciambella  and  under  the  adjoin- 
ing houses. 

XLIX.  Basilica  Nkptuni,  Neptunium,  llOSElAnNlON,  Por- 
Ticus  Argoxautarum  (the  Temple  of  Neptune  and  the  portico 
of  the  Argonauts,  the  Admiralty  of  the  Empire).  —  In  commemo- 
ration of  the  naval  victories  against  Sextus  Pompeius  at  Mysse 
and  at  Naulochos  (36  b.  c),  for  which  he  received  the  naval 
crown,  and  of  the  share  he  had  taken  in  the  battle  and  victory  of 
Actium  (31),  Agrippa  erected  in  26  a  group  of  buildings  in  the 
Campus  Martins,  which  comprised  a  square  108  metres  long,  and 
nS  metres  wide,  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  and  by  halls  of  various 
kinds,  and  a  temple  in  the  middle  of  the  square  dedicated  to  the 
(Jod  of  the  Seas.  The  group  is  called  Uoaeihdiviov,  Neptunium,  by 
Dion  Cassius,  while  the  portico  was  named  Argonautarum,  from 
the  jiaintings  of  naval  subjects  —  like  that  of  the  "  Sailors  of  the 
Argo  "  —  which  it  contained.  "  If  we  inquire  as  to  the  object  of 
so  extensive  a  structure,  having  in  its  design  so  much  in  common 
with  the  fora  of  the  Emperors,  we  must  be  satisfied  with  the 
answer  that,  according  to  all  analogy,  no  other  building  of  ancient 
Rome  seems  so  suitable  for  the  seat  of  the  Admiralty  as  this  sanc- 
tuary of  Neptune."  ^  Like  the  Iseuni,  the  Saspta,  the  Pantheon,  the 
Therm»  Agri]>pianfe,  and  the  Diribitorium,  it  was  destroyed  in  the 
conflagration  of  a.  d.  SO,  and  restored  by  Hadrian.  A  consider- 
able portion  of  the  temple,  including  eleven  columns  of  the  nortii 
side,  with  the  corresponding  wall  of  the  cella  and  of  the  richly 
decorated  ceiling,  stands  in  the  Piazza  "  di  Pietra,"  so  called  from 
the  "  petraia  "  or  marble  quarry  established  within  its  boundaries 
in  medifeval  times.  The  pillars  and  their  heavy  entablature  are 
much  injured  by  fii-e ;  the  proportions  of  the  order,  although  not 
so  perfect  as  was  usual  at  the  time  of  Hadrian,  are  good,  espe- 
cially if  we  i-emember  that  its  lofty  substructure  is  buried  deep 
1  Emil  Braun,  Ruins  and  Museums,  p.  63. 


488  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

undei"  the  modern  soil.  This  substructure  was  decorated  with 
figures  of  Roman  provinces,  one  beneath  each  column,  and  with 
trophies  and  panoplies,  one  beneath  each  intercolumniation. 
Three  provinces  and  two  trophies  were  discovered  under  Paul  III. 
(1534-50),  and  removed,  first  to  the  Palazzo  Farnese,  and  then 
to  the  Museo  Nazionale  of  Naples,  except  one  fragment  left  in 
Rome.  Under  Innocent  X.  (1644-55)  two  more  provinces  w^ere 
dug  up  and  presented  to  the  Capitoline  Museum,  where  they 
were  placed,  one  in  the  courtyard,  one  in  the  lower  corridor  of 
the  museum.  The  ti-ophy  set  in  the  wall  on  the  first  landing  of  the 
stairs  of  the  Altieri  Palace  was  probably  discovered  at  the  time  of 
the  Altieri  pope,  Clement  X.  (1670-76).  Under  Alexander  VII. 
(1655-67)  another  couple  of  provinces  were  discovered  in  situ, 
viz.,  in  the  basement  under  two  of  the  existing  columns.  The 
pope  kept  them  for  himself,  and  they  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the 
staircase  of  the  Chigi-Odescalchi  Palace  at  SS.  Apostoli.  In  1876 
our  Archaeological  Commission  found  six  bas-reliefs  in  the  same 
Piazza  di  Pietra,  placed  upside  down,  in  the  pavement  of  a  medi- 
aeval church  called  S.  Stefano  del  Trullo  (demolished  by  Innocent 
X.).  On  February  9,  1883,  three  more  pieces  were  dug  up  from 
the  same  place,  making  a  total  of  thirteen  provinces  and  of  six 
panels  with  panoplies.  The  peristyle  of  the  temple  numbered 
thirty-six  columns,  which  is  the  number  of  the  provinces  of  the 
Empire  when  the  temple  itself  was  restored  by  Hadrian.  If  the 
wishes  of  artists  and  archaeologists  had  been  listened  to,  provinces 
and  panoplies  would  have  been  restored  long  ago  to  their  original 
places,  so  as  to  make  the  remains  of  the  Temple  of  Neptune  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  impressive  monuments  of  Rome ;  but 
the  request  made  to  this  purpose  in  the  year  1883  was  negatived 
by  the  state,  and  the  sculptured  pieces  were  allowed  to  remain 
scattered  in  five  pajaces  or  museums,  and  in  two  cities,  two  hun- 
dred miles  apart.  The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  Forum,  the 
150  inscriptions  of  which,  found  at  various  times,  are  dispersed 
in  eighteen  different  places,  although  it  would  be  so  easy  to  restore 
them  to  the  Forum,  if  not  in  the  original,  at  least  in  plaster  casts. 
Theodor  Mommsen,  speaking  of  the  "  Hemerologium  Allifanum," 
a  fragment  of  which  is  kept  in  Naples,  the  other  at  Capua,  justly 
exclaims,  "  Hoc  enim  voluerunt  sive  fatorum  iniquitas,  sive  caeca 
hominum  studia,  ut  eiusdem  monument!  reliquiae  expositae  sint  in 
duobus  museis,  publicis  ambobus,  et  ambobus  italis."  The  Nep-. 
tunium,  however,  has  gone,  and  quite  recently,  through  other 
vicissitudes,  which  would  appear  grotesque  if  the  interest  of  the 


THE    TEMPLE    OF  NEPTUNE  489 

monument  were  not  at  stake.  When  Innocent  XII.  turned  the 
place  into  a  "  Dogana  di  terra  "  (the  maritime  custom-house  was 
then  at  the  Ripa  Grande),  his  architect  plastered  over  the  cornice, 
not  according  to  its  old  moulding,  of  which  Palladio  and  others 
had  taken  and  left  careful  designs,  but  according  to  his  own 
imagination.      In  1878,  when  the  Italian  government  took  down 


-t  T"  r  C^r  4  "T^^fiES: 


Fig.  I'JO.  —  The  Temple  of  Neptune  :  an  unfinished  Study  by  Vespignani. 

the  "  nu)dernizations  "  of  Innocent  XII.,  it  was  decided  to  restore 
the  cornice  to  its  original  shape.  The  person  intrusted  with  the 
work,  having  read  in  Xardini  (Nibby,  vol.  iii.  p.  120,  n.  1)  that 
a  genuine  piece  of  the  cornice,  discovered  under  Clement  XII. 
(1730-40)  had  been  removed  to  the  Capitol,^  went  there,  took  by 
mistake  the  cast  of  the  cornice  of  the  Temple  of  Concord,  and 
applied  it  to  that  of  Neptune  —  not  to  the  whole  of  it,  but  to  a 

1  The  statement  is  groundless.  The  beautiful  piece  of  carving  was  not 
removed  to  the  Capitol,  but  sawn  into  slabs  and  used  in  the  restoration  of 
the  Arch  of  Constantine. 


490  URBS    SACRA    REGIONUM    XIV 

space  comprising  five  columns  out  of  eleven.  The  student  who 
looks  at  the  entablature  will  find  it  sectioned  in  three  parts,  differ- 
ent in  shape,  size,  style,  and  epoch. 

The  (unfinished)  sketch  of  the  front  of  the  Neptunium  (Fig. 
190)  is  by  Vespignani  the  elder,  who  in  1880  directed  the  works 
for  transforming  the  cella  of  the  God  of  the  Seas  into  the  Bourse 
of  the  capital  of  Italy. 

A  crucifix  of  a  comparatively  recent  date  is  sculptured  on  the 
fourth  column,  counting  from  left  to  right,  about  4.50  metres 
above  ground.  The  upright  piece  of  the  cross  falls  into  the  first 
fluting  on  the  right  of  the  middle  one. 

A  genuine  piece  of  the  entablature  is  to  be  seen  in  the  garden 
of  "  la  salita  delle  tre  Pile,"  the  winding  street  whicli  leads  from 
the  Piazza  dell'  Aracoeli  to  that  of  the  Campidoglio. 

Narducci,  who  in  1887  explored  the  network  of  drains  connected 
with  the  temple  and  with  the  portico  of  the  Argonauts,  speaks 
of  them  with  admiration.  They  are  2  metres  high,  0.70  metre 
wide,  and  are  covered  with  large  tiles  stamped  with  the  names  of 
Faustina  the  elder  and  of  Annia  Lucilla,  wife  of  Lucius  Verus. 

The  Neptunium  was  a  favorite  subject  of  study  with  the  artists 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  vignettes  of  G.  A.  Dosio  (1.569), 
of  Etienne  du  Perac  (1575),  the  drawing  of  Palladio  (Archit.,  iv.  c. 
15),  of  Antonio  da  Sangallo  (Uffizi,  1407),  of  Giovanni  Alberti 
(Borgo  S.  Sepolcro,  p.  38',  39),  and  of  the  "  Cod.  Barberin.,"  xlviii. 
101,  enable  us  to  form  a  better  idea  of  the  monument  than  we  can 
gather  from  the  ruins  in  their  actual  state. 

Literature.— Kodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1878,  p.  10,  pis.  ii.  to  v.— 
Gio.  Battista  Pirauesi,  C(un,po  Marzio,  pi.  (xxxiv.)  xxxv.  —  Enrico  Nardiieci, 
Foiinatura,  p.  28.—Notisie  Scavi,  1878,  pp.  64,  92;  1879,  pp.  68,  240,  267,  SU; 
1880,  p.  228. 

G.    The  Spectacular  Buildings. 

L.  TiiEATRUM  Marcelli  (Theatre  of  INIarcellus),  begun  by 
Julius  Cfesar  on  the  site  of  many  public  and  private  buildings  ; 
as,  for  exanq^le,  the  Temple  of  Piety,  from  the  demolition  of  which 
he  was  suspected  to  have  gathered  large  sums  of  money.  He 
was  also  accused  of  having  burnt  many  statues  of  gods,  carved  in 
wood.  The  work,  unfinished  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the 
dictator,  was  continued  by  Augustus,  and  dedicated  in  13  b.  c, 
under  the  name  of  his  beloved  son-in-law  Marcellus,  then  recently 
deceased.  The  architecture  of  the  semicircular  part  resembles 
that  of  the  Coliseum,  the  arcades  of  the  lower  tier  being  of  the 
Doric  order,  those  of   the  upper,  of  the  Ionic.     Above  the  open 


THE    THEATRE    OF   MARCELLUS  491 

porticoes  was  au  attic  pierced  with  rectangular  windows,  and 
ornamented  with  pilasters  of  the  Corinthian  order.  The  architect 
of  the  Coliseum  has  certainly  designed  its  exterior  in  close  accord- 
ance with  the  lines  of  this  theatre.  Both  are  built  in  travertine 
from  the  Cava  del  Barco. 

On  the  dedication  day  the  "  Ludus  Trojae  "  was  performed  by 
the  sons  of  illustrious  patricians,  led  by  Caius  Csesar,  the  nephew 
of  Augustus;  and  six  hundred  wild  beasts  from  Nubia  were  slain 
in  the  circus.  The  breaking  down  of  the  Sella  Cm-ulis,  on  which 
the  Emperor  sat  to  witness  the  performance,  caused  him  to  fall 
on  his  back ;  but  the  accident  had  no  serious  consequences. 
Vespasian  restored  the  stage  after  the  fire  of  Xero,  and  celebrated 
the  event  with  scenic  plays  and  musical  concerts,  in  the  course  of 
which  Apollinaris  the  tragedian  received  a  gift  of  400  sestertia ; 
Terpnos  and  Diodoros,  harpists,  another  of  200  each,i  besides 
several  crowns  of  gold.  A  passage  in  the  Life  of  Severus  Alexan- 
der, ch.  44,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  theatre  was  no  more  used  in 
the  first  half  of  the  third  century  (Theatrum  Marcelli  reficere 
voluit)  ;  but  the  almanacs  of  the  fou.rth  century  and  the  poet 
Ausonius  assert  the  contrary,  and  give  the  theatre  a  capacity  of 
20,500  seats  {loco),  which  is  reduced  by  Huelsen  to  about  13,400 
by  interpreting  the  word  loca  in  the  sense  oifeet.  ^  When  Avianius 
Symmaclius  restored  the  Cestian  bridge  (a.  d.  365-370),  under  the 
rule  of  Gratianus,  he  laid  his  hands  on  the  disused  theatre,  and 
made  use  of  some  of  the  travertine  blocks  belonging  to  the  Doric 
arcade.  After  the  death  of  Gregory  YII.  in  1086  it  was  turned 
into  a  stronghold  by  the  Pierleoni,  and  for  two  centuries  at  least 
was  subject  to  the  same  vicissitudes  through  which  the  Coliseum 
and  other  prominent  edifices  passed  in  the  time  of  the  barons  of 
that  turbulent  period.  The  Pierleoni  gave  shelter  in  it  to  Pope 
Urban  II.  (1099),  and  in  it  that  pope  died  in  1118.  On  May  24, 
1368,  Luca  di  Jacopo  Savelli  purchased  "  plures  domus  et  palatia 
et  antiqua  cedijicia  cum  cryptis  posite  in  monte  "  (the  Monte  Savello 
of  the  present  day),  and  after  the  extinction  of  that  family  in  1712, 
the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Orsini. 

The  section  of  the  outside  shell,  visible  at  present,  a  magnificent 
ruin  in  outline  and  color,  is  buried  fifteen  feet  in  modern  soil,  and 
supports  the  Orsini  palace  erected  upon  its  stage  and  ranges  of 
seats.  What  stands  above  ground  of  the  lower  or  Doric  arcades 
is  rented  by  the  prince  for  the  most  squalid  and  ignoble  class  of 
shops.     Other  corridors  and  rooms  are  tolerably  well  preserved ; 

1  £3200  and  £1600  respectively.  2  Bull,  com.,  1894,  p.  319. 


492 


URBS   SACRA   REG  I  ON  UM  XTV 


but  being  now  converted  into  offices  belonging  to  the  palace  which 
has  insinuated  itself  into  these  ruins,  they  are  not  accessible  to 
strangers.  The  stage  lay  towards  the  Tiber,  and  being  lower 
than  half  the  belts  of  seats,  afforded  the  spectators  massed  in  the 
upper  mseniana  a  tine  view  of  the  chain  of  hills  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river. 

The  arcades  which  are  seen  from  the  Via  del  Teatro  di  Marcello 
are  not  the  only  remains  accessible   to  the  student.     There   are 


Fig.  191.  —  Remains  of  the  Hall  of  the  Theatre  of  Marcellus,  from  a  Sketch  by  Dii  Perac 

(1575). 

walls  in  the  cellars  of  the  "  Osteria  della  Campana "  close  by, 
described  by  Venuti  as  corridors  leading  to  the  vomitoria  of  the 
equestrian  order,  and  to  the  orchestra  where  the  senators  had 
their  seats.  Other  walls  can  be  examined  in  the  court  of  the 
house  Via  del  Portico  d'  Ottavia,  No.  22.  The  pillars  and  cornices 
of  travertine  which  appear  near  the  gate  of  the  Palazzo  Orsini 
belong  to  the  "  aula  regia  "  or  "  curia  "  on  the  left  of  the  stage. 
This  beautiful  hall  was  nearly  intact  three  centuries  ago,  and  the 
public  street  leading  from  the  Piazza  Montanara  to  the  Ponte 
Quattro  Capi  passed  through  it,  as  shown  in  the  above  sketch  by 
Ktienne  du  Perac. 


THE    THEATRE    OF    BALE  US 


493 


LiTEKATUKE. —  Corpus  Iiiscr.,  vol.  i.  p.  392  (April  27);  vol.  vi.  n.  95G, 
1660,  9868,  10,028.  — Heinrich  Jordan,  Forma  Urbis,  pi.  iv.  n.  29.  —  Theo- 
dor  Monimsen,  Res  gestw,  iv.  22,  p.  88.  —  Ridolflno  Venuti,  Antich.,  vol.  ii.  p. 
75. — Mariano  Armellini,  Chiese,  p.  622.  —  Kodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  corn.,  1875, 
p.  173;  1886,  p.  206. —Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  elder,  Barberln.,  4,  37,  71'. 
—  A.  da  Sangallo  the  j'ounger,  U^ffizi,  930,  932,  1107,  1122,  1270.  —  Baldassare 
Peruzzi,  Ujjizi,  626.  —  Vincenzo  Scamozzi,   Uffizi,  1806. 

LI.  Theatrum  et  Crypta  Balbi,  built  by  L.  Cornelius  Bal- 
bus,  a  friend  of   Augustus,  with  the  riches  acquired  during  the 


Fig.  192.  —  Arcades  of  the  Theatre  of  Balbus,  from  a  Sketch  by  Sangallo  the  Elder. 


Garamantic  war,  and  dedicated  in  the  year  13,  on  the  return  of 
the  Emperor  from  his  campaigns  beyond  the  Alps.  An  inunda- 
tion of  the  Tiber  obliged  the  distinguished  company  invited  to 
attend  the  opening  ceremony  to  reach  their  destination  in  boats. 
The  fire  of  Titus  did  great  damage  to  the  structure,  but  we  do  not 


494 


URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 


know  by  whom,  or  at  what  time,  it  was  repaired.     It  could  accom- 
modate 11,600  spectators  (7700  according  to  Huelsen). 

Like  the  tlieatre  of  MarceUus,  that  of  Balbiis  gave  rise  to  a 
mound  of  ruins,  called  "  Monte  dei  Cenci  "  from  the  family  of  that 
name  who  had  occupied  and  fortified  it.  The  name  was  accepted 
by  the  Renaissance  in  substitution  for  that  of  Theatrum  Antonini 
used  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  remains  visible  when  Piranesi 
was  preparing  his  magnificent  plates  of  the  Campus  Martins  were 
two  walls  once  covered  by  the  inarble  seats  of  the  cavea ;  he  saw 
them  in  the  cellar  of  a  wine-shop,  right  under  the  church  of  S. 
Tommaso  a  Cenci,  in  the  Via  di  S.  Bartolomeo  de'  Vaccinari.^ 
Those  two  converging  walls  have  allowed  us  to  trace  the  exact 
location  of  the  whole  building,  the  curved  part  of  which  faced  the 
Tiber,  while  the  scena  was  parallel  with  our  Via  del  Pianto.  The 
want  of  existing  ruins,  however,  is  amply  atoned  for  by  a  set  of 
drawings  taken  by  the  elder  Sangallo  before  the  final  collapse  of 
the  tlieatre,  and  by  the  discoveries  made  in  1888,  when  the  Via 
Arenula  was  opened  and  drained  at  a  great  depth  on  the  north 
side  of  the  theatre.     I  have  as  yet  had  no  opportunity  of  putting 

together   the  plans  and   notes 


p.'^X 


Sangallo  Barberin.  f.  1.2.  ^^^  which     I     took     in      1888.       To 

show,  however,  what  valuable 
documents  we  possess  in  con- 
nection with  this  theatre,  I  re- 
produce in  the  above  illustra- 
tion (Fig.  192)  a  sketch  taken 
by  Sangallo  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  repre- 
senting a  section  of  the  jiortico 
behind  the  scene. 

The-sketcli  sIioms  a  particu- 
lar quite  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  Roman  architecture, 
that  of  columns  cutting  in  two 
the  space  between  the  corre- 
sponding pilasters,  and  stand- 
ing right  in  the  middle  of  the 
passage,  so  that  the  number  of 
columns  on  the  outer  line  was 

1  More  walls  were  visible  under  the  church  in  the  sixteenth  century;  in  a 
deed  of  April  15,  1513,  they  are  described  as  "  arcus  volti  subtus  ecclesiam 
Sancti  Thoniae." 


Fig.  193. 


THE    CRYPTS    OF   BALE  US 


495 


:r   r 


double  that  of  the  pilasters  on  the  inner.  Tlie  arrangement  was 
really  such,  as  we  can  gather  from  fragment  n.  115,  pi.  xvii.  of 
the  marble  plan,  and  from  another  drawing  by  Sangallo,  here  re- 
produced (Fig.  193). 

The  Crypta  Balbi.  —  The  name  of  "  crypta  "  is  peculiar  to 
underground  porticoes,  lighted  from  windows  or  skylights  above, 
cooler  in  summer  and  warmer  in  winter  than  the  ordinary  open 
colonnades.  We  do  not  know  why  it  was  given  to  the  portico 
built  by  Balbus  behind  the  scene  of  his  theatre  (a  portico  entirely 
above  ground),  unless  it  was  on  account  of  the  darkness  or  "  dim 
religious  light"  into  which  the  inner  halls  were  plunged  owing  to 
the  existence  of  an  ujjper  story. 

The  crypta,  a  parallelogram  llS.oO  metres  long  and  4'1..5.5  metres 
wide,  occupied  the  space  now  bounded  by  the  Via  di  S.  Maria  in 
Cacaberis,  Via  del  Pianto,  Via  Arenula,  and  Piazza  (xiudea.  Two 
pilasters  with  engaged  columns  with  their  entablature  of  bricks 
and  travertine  are  visible  on  each  side 
of  the  door  No.  23  Via  di  S.  Maria  in  ,z^^L^.^j:^:xiiim::m 
Cacaberis;  but  the   whole  block  of  ^i''     7        "p 

houses  rests  on  ancient  foundations. 
Nibby  explored  these  substructures  in 
183.5  and  saw  traces  of  the  round  halls 
and  exhedrai  which  occupied  the  mid- 
dle of  the  portico.  Its  original  name 
was  preserved  in  the  ]\Iiddle  Ages,  un- 
der the  diminutive  form  of  crypticula 
or  craticulu.  When  Baldassare  Pe- 
ruzzi  took  its  plan  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteentli  century  the  crypt  was  almost 
intact.  The  arcades  were  occupied 
by  butchers,  sellers  of  copper  vessels 
(caccabarii),  and  candlemakers  (cande- 
lottari),  by  the  hoixses  of  the  Santa- 
croce,  and  by  the  church  and  cemetery  of  S.  Salvatore  in  Cacaba- 
riis.  The  best  plan  is  that  of  Palladio,  in  portfolio  xi.  sheet  1  of 
the  Burlington-Devonshire  collection.  The  best  elevation  is  that 
of  Sangallo  the  elder,  in  "Barberin.,"  f.  1,  which  I  reproduce 
here  at  one  fifth  of  the  original. 

The  paved  square  around  the  theatre  was  ornamented  with  sev- 
eral fountains.  One  of  the  basins,  of  white  and  black  granite,  over 
twenty-two  metres  in  circumference,  discovered  about  1750  in  the 
Piazza  di  Branca  (now  Cairoli),  was  purchased  by  Cardinal  Ales- 


Fig.  194.  —  Remains  of  the  Cr}'pta 
Balbi,  designed  by  Sangallo  the 
Elder. 


496  URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

sandro  Albani,  and  removed  to  his  villa  on  the  Via  Salai'ia. 
Another,  smaller  in  size,  was  discovered  on  the  same  spot  in  1887, 
and  has  been  set  up  in  the  garden  of  the  Piazza  Cairoli  in  front  of 
the  Santacroce  palace.  Here  also  was  found  in  the  seventeenth 
century  the  beautiful  statue  of  the  sitting  Ares  now  in  the  Ludovisi- 
Boncomj)agni  museum,  described  by  Helbig,  "  Guide,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
115,  n.  883. 

Literature.  —  Hochte,  De  L.  Cornelio  Balbo,  1882. — Antonio  Nibby, 
Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  586.  —  Beschreibung  Ronis,  vol.  iii.  3,  fiO.  —  Notizie 
Scavi,  1887,  pp.  114, 144,  230,  276,  327.  —  Antonio  Sangallo  the  elder,  Barberin., 
f.  1,  2,  4',  14'.  —  Baldassare  Penizzi,  Uffizi,  n.  486.  —  Fra  Gioeondo  (?),  {bid. 
125.  — Piranesi,  Antichita,  vol.  iv.  pi.  46;  and  Cumpo  Marzio,  pi.  xv. 

LII.  Odeum.  —  Becker  refers  the  building  of  this  theatrical 
hall,  capable  of  containing  10,600  (7000)  spectators,  to  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Agon  Capitolinus,  a  competition  for  the  world's 
championship  in  gymnastics,  equestrian  sports,  music,  and  poetry, 
established  by  Domitian  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign.  It  was 
probably  restored  by  Trajan,  Ammianus  Marcellinus  numbers  it 
among  the  most  beautiful  monuments  of  the  Urbs  sterna. 
Topographers  place  it  on  the  site  of  the  present  Palazzo  Massimi, 
Corso  Vittorio  Emmanttele,  on  account  of  the  discovery  of  great 
architectural  fragments  from  a  "  curved "  edifice  made  in  its 
foundations.  This  surmise  seems  to  be  substantiated  by  quite 
recent  finds  of  the  same  nature. 

Literature.  — Suetonius,  Domitian,  4.  —  Dion  Cassius,  Ixix.  4.  —  Ammi- 
anus Marcellinus,  xvi.  10. — Luigi  Canina,  Indicaz.  topogr.,  p.  394.  —  Ridolfino 
Venuti,  Antichita,  \i.  lf)%. — Stefano  ^lorceWi,  SuW  Agone  capitolino.  Milan, 
1816.  —  Joachim  Marquardt,  Handbuch  der  ramiscJien  Altertlmmer,  vol.  iv.  p. 
453.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  280. 

LIII.  Stadium.  —  The  Romans  were  so  insatiable  for  spectacu- 
lar performances  of  every  description  that,  in  spite  of  the  many 
buildings  permanently  erected  for  this  purpose,  temporary  ones 
(subitaria)  were  very  often  raised  to  meet  extraordinary  emergen- 
cies. In  ch.  39  of  Csesar's  Life,  Suetonius  mentions  a  stadium  ad 
tempus  extructum  in  the  Campus  Martins,  for  athletic  competitions 
which  lasted  three  days ;  Dion  Cassius  (liii.  1)  another,  ^vXivov 
(wooden)  erected  in  the  same  jilace  under  Augustus.  A  memento 
of  this  last  was  discovered  in  1547  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Apollinare, 
opposite  the  palace  of  Cardinal  Ridolfi,  in  the  shape  of  two  marble 
pedestals,  commemorating  the  "  votive  games  "  performed  in  it  in 
the  years  13  and  7  b.  c,  on  the  return  of  Augustus  from  the  Spanish 


THE   STADIUM 


497 


and  Gallic  wars.     There  were  also  five  scenic  masks  cut  in  marble, 
in  the  shape  of  those  preserved  in  the  theatre  at  Ostia. 

Domitian  built  a  permanent  stadium,  in  which  the  gladiators 
fought  whenever  the  amphitheatre  was  closed  for  repairs.     The 


Fig.  195. 


-Remaius  of  the  Stadium  discovered  in  1869,  at  the  South  End  of  the  Piazza 
Navona. 


stadium,  capable  of  containing  30,088  spectators,  was  restored  by 
Severus  Alexander ;  hence  the  name  of  "  Circus  Alexandrinus  " 
given  to  it  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  stadium  is  now  represented 
in  size  and  shape  by  the  Piazza  Navona,  on  which  the  Roman  muni- 
cipality lias  imposed  the  doubly  wrong  name  of  "  Circo  Agonale." 
The   houses,  palaces,  and  churches   by  which  the  piazza  is  sur- 


498  URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM  XIV 

rounded  are  all  standing  on  the  well-preserved  ruins  of  the  seats 
and  corridors.  The  only  part  accessible  to  students  is  the  "  for- 
nices"  under  the  church  of  S.  Agnese,  where  the  lovely  young 
martyr  is  said  to  have  been  publicly  exposed  after  her  torture,  and 
to  have  struck  with  blindness  the  first  person  who  saw  her  degra- 
dation. This  account  is  substantiated  in  its  main  lines  by  the 
well-known  passage  in  the  "  Vita  Ileliogab.,"  26  —  '•  onines  de  circo, 
de  theatre,  de  staclio  .  .  .  nieretrices  coUegit."  Another  fragment 
of  the  substructures  is  to  be  seen  in  the  court  of  the  house  No.  31 
Via  delle  Cinque  Lune. 

The  first  accounts  of  excavations  date  from  1511,  when  some 
richly  carved  bases  and  friezes  were  found  "under  a  church  (S. 
Agnese  de  Cryptis  Agonis)  near  the  palace  of  the  countess  of 
Massa."  Pius  IV.  is  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  the  east 
side  between  the  Piazza  Navona  and  the  Piazza  Madonna,  whicli 
lie  undertook  in  August,  1561,  to  provide  building  materials  for 
his  casino  in  the  Vatican  gardens.  Other  sections  were  demol- 
ished by  Du  Jardin,  the  architect  of  S.  Nicolo  dei  Lorenesi ;  by 
Rainaldi,  the  architect  of  the  Palazzo  Pamfili ;  and  by  Morelli,  the 
architect  of  the  Palazzo  Braschi.  I  have  myself  seen  the  remains 
of  the  Stadium  excavated  twice  :  on  October  13,  1868,  at  the  curved 
end,  towards  S.  Apollinare;  and  on  December  10,  1869,  at  the 
opposite  or  square  end,  by  the  Via  della  Cuccagna,  when  the  plio- 
tograph  was  taken  which  is  here  reproduced  (Fig.  19.5). 

The  custom  of  flooding  the  Piazza  Navona  on  Sundays  in  July 
and  August,  instituted  in  1652,  was  given  up  in  1867. 

LiTEKATUEE. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  v(i].  vi.  n.  .385,  380.  —  Cod.  Vatic,  5253,  f. 
362;  and  60-39,  f.  246,  247.  —  Antonio  Sangallo,  Uffizi,  n.  1-321.—  Santjallo  il 
Ciobbo,  ibiiL,  1552.- — Francesco  Cancellieri,  II  mercato,  il  lago,  etc.  Rome, 
1811.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Camp.  Mart.,  tav.  xxxvii.  —  Bianconi,  Dei 
Circlii,  pp.  8,18,  84.  —  Eniiliano  Sarti,  Arch.  Societa  .<!toriu  palria,  vol.  ix.  p. 
478. 

II.  The  Buildings  of  Neko,  Domitian,  and  Hadrian. 

LIV.  Therms  Neronian^  et  Alexaxdriax.e.  —  While 
restoring  the  Stadium  about  a.  d.  228,  Severus  Alexander  rebuilt 
and  considerably  enlarged  the  adjoining  thermse  which  Nero  had 
constructed,  together  with  a  gymnasium,  in  the  year  preceding 
the  great  fire  (64).  They  occupied  the  space  now  covered  by 
the  palazzi  Madama  (Senate-house),  Giustiniani,  Patrizi,  by  the 
houses  on  the  Piazza  Rondinini,  and  by  the  church  and  palace  of 
S.  Luigi  dei  Francesi.     There  are  no  remains  above  ground  ex- 


THE    BATHS    OF   NERO  499 

cept  a  few  walls  in  the  Senate-house  concealed  under  the  modern 
plastering ;  but  the  site  of  the  thermfe  has  been  and  is  still  a  mine 
of  marbles,  especially  of  columns  of  red  granite.  When  Alexander 
VII.  excavated  the  Piazza  di  S.  Luigi  in  1666,  besides  the  two 
columns  with  which  he  restored  the  left  corner  of  the  pronaos  of 
the  Pantheon,  he  found  capitals  with  Victories  in  the  place  of  the 
volutes.  Two  more  columns  were  discovered  in  the  time  of  Inno- 
cent X.,  lying  across  the  street  which  separates  the  Palazzo  Ma- 
dama  from  the  church  of  S.  Luigi,  and  several  others  under  the 
Giustiniani  Palace.  A  piece  of  a  column  of  the  most  beautiful 
granite,  1.1-1  metre  in  diameter,  lies  in  the  cellar  of  the  Palazzo 
Patrizi.  Another  found  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Eustachio  has  been 
made  use  of  in  the  restoration  of  the  steps  of  S.  Peter's.  Several 
have  been  brought  to  light  in  my  own  time.  The  one  erected 
last  year  opposite  the  "  breccia  di  Porta  Pia  "  in  the  Corso  d'  Italia, 
in  commemoration  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  reunion 
of  Rome  to  Italy,  was  found  in  the  Salita  dei  Crescenzi  in  the 
spring  of  1875. 

No  less  remarkable  is  the  abundance  of  basins  for  fountains 
cut  out  of  a  single  block  of  granite.  The  first,  6.70  metres  in 
diameter,  found  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Eustachio,  was  given  by  Pius 
IV.  to  Rutilio  Alberini,  commissioner  of  streets;  the  second  and 
the  third,  found  on  the  same  occasion,  were  abandoned  in  con- 
sideration of  their  fragmentary  state.  The  fourth  came  to  light 
in  1706  from  the  foundations  of  the  Seminario  Romano ;  the  fifth 
towards  1750  from  those  of  the  Palazzo  Cenci  at  S.  Eustachio. 
An  inscription  (Corpus,  n.  8676)  mentions  a  vilicus  or  intendant 
ther mar (wm)  iy(eronis)  of  the  time  of  the  Flavians;  another  (n. 
30.")2),  scratched  on  the  wall  of  the  guard-house  of  the  Vigiles  at 
the  jNIonte  <le'  Fiori,  Trastevere,  seems  to  jirove  that  the  name  of 
Nero  had  survived  through  tlie  restoration  of  Severus  Alexander. 

Two  other  buildings  belonging  to  this  period,  viz.,  the  Stadium 
and  the  Odeum,  have  been  described  above. 

LiTEKATUUE.  —  Powath,  Der  Kaiser  Alexander  Severn.t.  Halle,  ISTfi. — 
Lanciani,  Notizie  Scavi,  1881,  p.  270;  1882,  pi.  xxi.;  and  Forma  Urhis  Ronun, 
pi.  yLW  — Notizie,  Scavi,  1876,  p.  12;  1882,  pp.  412,  4.33;  1883,  jip.  15,  81,  130; 
1892,  p.  265.  — Antonio  Sanffallo  the  younger,  UJizi,  949,  1V,U.~  Cod.  Bar- 
berin.,  xlviii.  101,  f.  13',  14',  28,  29.  —  A16  Giovannoli,  Roma  antica,  1.  iii.  pi.  10. 

LV.  The  short  reign  of  Titus  was  saddened  by  three  public 
calamities :  the  eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  the  plague,  and  a 
fire  in  Rome  (a.  d.  80)  which  lasted  three  days  and  three  nights, 
damaging  or  destroying  two  thirds  of  the  buildings  of  the  Campus 


500  UEBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM   XIV 

Martius.  Dion  Cassius  mentions  as  destroyed  the  Diribitoriuni. 
the  Temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis,  the  Saepta  Julia,  the  Admiralty, 
the  Baths  of  Agrippa,  and  the  Pantheon.  The  damages  were  so 
great  that  it  took  many  years  and  the  efforts  of  four  Emperors  to 
repair  them.  Titus  himself,  a  jDassionate  collector  of  works  of  art 
(the  Laocoon,  for  instance,  belonged  to  his  private  mansion  on 
the  Oppian),  gave  them  up  to  replace  those  that  had  perished  in 
the  flames.  Domitian  began  and  Hadrian  finished  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  various  buildings,  except  that  of  the  Portico  of  Octavia, 
which  remained  in  its  ruinous  state  until  the  reign  of  Septimius 
Severus.  Of  these  buildings,  the  only  one  which  I  have  not  yet 
mentioned  or  described  is  the 

IsiUM  KT  Serapium,  the  great  sanctuary  of  Isis  and  Serapis, 
which  occupied  the  space  between  the  Saspta,  the  Minervium,  and 
the  Baths  of  Agrippa,  on  the  line  of  the  present  Via  del  Collegio 
Romano.  The  sanctuary  contained  the  propylaia,  or  pyramidal 
towers,  with  a  gateway  flanked  by  obelisks  at  each  end  of  the 
dromos  (one  near  the  present  church  of  S.  Stefano  del  Cacco, 
one  near  the  church  of  S.  Macuto)  ;  the  dromos  or  sacred  avenue 
leading  to  the  double  temple,  lined  with  masterpieces  of  Egyptian 
sculpture ;  a  peristyle  inclosing  the  sacred  area,  built  (or  rebuilt) 
by  Domitian,  exactly  like  the  inclosure  wall  of  his  Forum  Transi- 
torium,  in  the  purest  Greco-Roman  style  prevailing  in  his  time; 
and  the  double  eel  la  of  the  temple  of  pure  Egyptian  architecture, 
built  with  materials  of  an  old  sanctuary  brought  over,  piece  by 
piece,  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  to  those  of  the  Tiber,  except  a 
few  accessory  parts  which  seem  to  be  of  Roman  imitation.  What- 
ever may  be  left  standing  of  this  great  structure  is  concealed 
by  the  modern  houses  of  the  Via  di  S.  Ignazio  and  di  S.  Stefano 
del  Cacco ;  but  the  archaeological  and  artistic  treasures  discovered 
among  the  ruins  from  1374  to  1833  are  innumerable  and  mostly 
preserved  in  Rome. 

In  1374,  the  first  obelisk,  now  in  the  Piazza  della  Rotonda,  was 
found  under  the  apse  of  S.  JNIaria  sopra  IMinerva ;  it  is  possible 
that  the  other,  now  in  the  Villa  Mattei  (von  Hoffmann)  may  have 
come  to  light  at  the  same  time.  In  1435,  Eugenius  IV.  discovered 
the  two  lions  of  Nektaneb  I.  which  are  now  in  the  Vatican  (hall 
of  monuments,  Museo  Egizio),  and  the  two  of  black  basalt  now  in 
the  Capitoline  Museum  (vestibule,  ground  floor).  In  1440,  the 
colossal  reclining  figure  of  a  River  God  was  found  and  buried 
again.  The  Tiber  of  the  Louvre  (Froehner's  Catalogue,  p.  411, 
n.  449)  and  the  Nile  of  the  Braccio  Nuovo  seem  to  have  come  to 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   ISJS   AND   SERAPIS 


501 


light  during  the  pontificate  of  Leo  X. ;  at  all  events  it  was  he  who 
caused  them  to  be  removed  to  the  Vatican.  These  two  master- 
pieces (L'art  romain,  qui  se  plaisait  a  imposer  par  les  masses,  n'a 
rien  produit  de  superiem*  a  ces  deux  colosses)  were  stolen  by  the 
French  invaders  in  the  month  of  Messidor,  an  X.  (July,  1803). 
Tlie  Xile  was  given  back,  however,  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon. 
This  last  event,  an  act  of  plain  justice  if  ever  there  was  one,  is 


Fig.  196.  — The  Nile  of  the  Braccio  Nuovo  —  A  Fragment. 


thus  alluded  to  by  Froehner  :  "  Le  group  du  Nil,  qui  formalt  pen- 
dant avec  notre  Tibre,  a  ete  enleve  du  niusee  Napoleon  le  18  octobre 
1815."  In  1556,  Giovanni  de  Fabi  found  and  sold  to  Cardinal 
Farnese  the  reclining  statue  of  the  Ocean,  now  in  Naples ;  in  1719, 
the  Isiac  altar,  now  in  the  Capitol  (Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  341), 
was  found  under  the  Casanatense  library.  The  date  of  the  find 
of  the  obelisks  of  the  sphseristerion  at  Urbino,  of  the  Villa  Albaiii, 
and  of  La  Minerva  is  not  known.  In  1858,  Pietro  Tranquilli,  in 
restoring  his  house,  the  nearest  to  the  apse  of  La  Minerva,  dis- 
covered the  following  objects :  a  Sphinx  of  green  granite,  with 
the  poi'trait  head  of  Queen  Haths'epu,  sister  of  Thothmes  III., 
now  in  the  collection  of  Baron  Barracco,  Via  del  Corso,  160 ;  a 


502  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

group  of  the  cow  Hathor,  the  living  symbol  of  Lsis,  nursing  the 
young  Pharaoh  Horemheb ;  a  portrait  statue  of  the  grand  dignitary 
Uahabra,  now  in  the  Museo  Archeologico,  Florence ;  a  column  of 
the  temple,  with  high  reliefs  representing  an  Isiac  procession ;  a 
capital  carved  with  papyi'us  leaves  and  lotus  flowers,  now  in  the 
Museo  Capitolino ;  and  a  fragment  of  an  Egyptian  bas-relief  in 
red  granite,  now  in  the  Museo  delle  Terme. 

In  1859,  Augusto  Silvestrelli,  the  owner  of  the  next  house  on 
the  same  side  of  the  Via  di  S.  Ignazio,  found  five  capitals  of  the 
same  style  and  size,  which,  I  believe,  are  now  in  the  Museo  Etrusco 
Vaticano.  In  1883,  I  asked  the  Archaeological  Commission  to 
search  the  ground  in  front  of  the  Silvestrelli  and  Tranquilli 
houses,  where  I  knew  that  many  other  works  of  art  were  lying. 
My  request  was  kindly  complied  with,  and  the  work  began  on 
Monday,  June  11.  The  first  thing  to  appear  was  a  magnificent 
Sphinx  of  black  basalt,  the  portrait  of  King  Amasis ;  then  came 
the  obelisk  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Rameses  the  Great,  set  up 
in  1887  in  the  Piazza  dei  Cinquecento  opposite  the  railway  station, 
in  memory  of  the  brave  soldiers  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Dogali ; 
two  Kynokephaloi,  with  the  cartouches  of  King  Necthorheb,  carved 
in  black  porphyry ;  a  crocodile  in  red  granite ;  the  pedestal  of  a 
candelabrum ;  another  column  of  the  temple  covered  with  bas- 
reliefs  ;  and  a  portion  of  the  capital.  All  these  objects  are  exhib- 
ited in  the  vestibule  and  court  of  the  Museo  Capitolino. 

Literature.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Le  reconti  scoperte  dell'  Iseo  Campense 
(in  Bull,  com.,  1883,  p.  33).  —  Eruesto  Schiaparelli,  ibid.,  p.  61.  —  Giovanni 
Barracco,  ibid.  p.  104.  —  Orazio  Marucchi,  ibid.,  n.  112,  and  plates  i.  to  vii. — 
Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  28,  n.  47.  (Compare  also  Bull,  com.,  1887, 
p.  377;  and  1890,  p.  307.)  —  Kaibel,  Inscr.  grcecm  Italim,  n.  961,  1031. 

LVI.  Templum  Matidi^:.  —  After  restoring  the  Baths  of 
Agrippa,  the  Ssepta,  and  the  Portico  of  the  Argonatits,  and  after  re- 
building the  Pantheon  and  the  Neptunium,  Hadrian  filled  up  the 
vacant  space  between  these  last  two  edifices  with  a  construction  of 
his  own,  viz.,  with  a  temple  (and  a  portico?)  in  honor  of  Marciana, 
sister  of  Trajan,  and  of  INIatidia,  his  sister-in-law.  The  seven  large 
columns  of  cipollino,  one  of  which  is  visible  in  the  Via  della 
Spada  d'  Orlando,  the  others  under  the  adjoining  houses,  are  the 
only  existing  remains  of  the  temple.  In  the  "  album  "  of  archae- 
ological views  of  Rome  published  in  1619  by  A16  Giovannoli,  plate 
7  represents  a  round  hall  which  he  calls  '•  tempio  di  Siepe  "  and 
places  within  the  "  pallazzo  di  SS"  Capranici  inverso  Mezzogiorno." 
If  he  means  the  palace  now  occupied  by  the  Collegio  Capranica, 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   MATIDIA 


503 


Fig.  197.  —  A  Round  Temple  or  Hall  sketched  by  Giovannoli  in  1G19,  near  the  Palazzo 

Capranica. 

in  the  piazza  of  that  name,  this  noble  relic  must  have  formed  part 
of  Hadrian's  architectviral  group.  If  we  may  believe  a  statement 
of  Canina,  worded  in  a  very  obscure  way,  the  relic  was  discovered 
again  in  1889. 

LiTER.^TURE.  —  Luigi  CAwma.,  incticdzlone  iopografica,  p.  399,  n.  61. — Anto- 
nio Sangallo  the  younger,  Uffizi,  n.  11.54. — Baldassare  Peruzzi,  ibid.,  n.  032. 
—  Rodolfo  Laiiciani,  La  basilica  Matidies  et  .Uarciaties  (in  Bull,  com.,  1883,  p. 
6,  pis.  i.,  ii.). 


I.  The  Opera  Axtoxixorum. 

LYIT.  The  strip  of  land  built  and  decorated  by  the  first  Anto- 
nines  "  marches  "  on  the  north  with  that  built  by  Augustus,  on 
the  south  with  that  built  by  Agrippa.  Referring  to  the  present 
state  of  the  ground,  it  began  at  the  corner  of  the  Corso  and  the 
Via  in  Lucina,  and  ended  with  the  Palazzo  Ferraioli  in  the  Piazza 
Colonna.  The  group  comprised  a  temple  in  honor  of  (^I.  Aurelius) 
Antoninus,  on  the  site  of  the  Palazzo  Chigi  (?)  ;  a  square  in  front 
of  the  temple,  corresisonding  within  certain  limits  with  our  Piazza 
Colonna,  in  the  middle  of  which  stood  the  celebrated  spiral  column 
of  ]\Iarcus  Aurelius ;  the  house  of  Adrastus,  the  custodian  of  the 
same  column ;  a  portico ;  the  column  of  Antoninus  Pius ;  and 
the  Ustrinum,  where  the  bodies  of  tlie  princes  of  this  d^'uasty  were 
cremated. 


504  URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

The  entrance  to  this  monumental  group  by  the  Via  Flaminia 
was  marked  by  a  triumphal  arch  which  stood  at  the  corner  of  the 
Via  della  Vite,  and  was  destroyed  in  1662  by  Pojie  Alexander  VII. 
The  arch  was  a  patchwork  of  the  third  or  fourth  century  (fatto 
di  qualche  reliquia  di  altri  archi  piii  antichi).  We  cannot  there- 
fore trust  to  the  evidence  of  its  bas-reliefs,  —  alleged  to  represent, 
the  one  on  the  right,  the  apotheosis  of  Faustina  the  younger,  the 
one  on  the  left,  the  Emperor  M.  Aurelius  proclaiming  a  decree,  — 
because  they  may  have  been  borrowed  from  some  other  monu- 
ment, like  the  panels  of  Constantine's  arch  ;  and  because  the  heads 
of  the  Empress  and  the  Emperor  are  modern.  The  two  bas-reliefs 
were  removed  at  first  to  the  Capitoline  Museum,  and  later  on  were 
placed  in  the  upper  landing  of  the  stairs  of  the  Conservatori  Pal- 
ace (1815).  There  is  a  third  bas-relief  of  exactly  the  same  size  and 
style  in  the  Palazzo  Torlonia,  Piazza  di  Venezia,  wliich  was  for- 
merly in  the  possession  of  Maria  Felice  Peretti  Savelli ;  but  Matz 
and  von  Duhn  deny  its  connection  with  the  arch  on  the  Corso. 
Two  of  its  columns  of  verde  antico  were  bought  by  the  Pamfili 
for  two  thousand  scudi  and  placed  on  each  side  of  the  high  altar 
at  S.  Agnese ;  two  others  ended  in  the  Corsini  Chapel  at  the 
Lateral!.  The  key  of  the  arch  is  to  be  found  in  the  vestibule  of 
the  university,  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  The  arch  is  known  in 
topographical  books  as  the  "  Arco  di  Portogallo,"  because  the 
Portuguese  ambassadors  lived  in  the  adjacent  Palazzo  Ottoboni- 
Fiano.  In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  called  ad  tres  faccicelas,  —  an 
extraordinary  name,  which  seems  to  allude  to  "  three  faces,"  — 
and  also  "  Arch  of  Tripolis,"  in  allusion  to  three  figures  of  cities. 
No  clue  to  the  origin  of  these  strange  denominations  was  obtained 
until  1891,  when  I  discovered  in  a  MS.  note  to  an  edition  of  Fulvio's 
"  Antichitk  "  of  1588,  now  in  possession  of  Professor  Hartmann 
Grisar,  S.  J.,  the  statement  by  an  eye-witness  that  in  1740,  fifty 
palms  from  the  northeast  corner  of  the  arch,  a  pillar  had  been 
found,  "  with  three  figures  around  it,  of  draped  women  in  a  mourn- 
ful attitude,  representing  perhaps  three  cities  conquered  by  the  one 
to  whom  the  triumphal  arch  belonged."  The  account  is  perfectly 
genuine  :  the  pillar  with  the  "  three  faces  "  is  still  in  existence, 
and  can  be  seen  in  the  second  compartment  at  the  end  of  the  Gal- 
leria  delle  Statue,  Museo  Vaticano.  No  mention  of  this  highly 
interesting  group  is  made  in  Helbig's  "  Guide."  The  following 
illustration  of  the  arch  was  made  from  a  photograph  of  an  original 
sketch  by  Ligorio  in  '■  Cod.  Torin.,"  xiv. 


THE    ARCH   ON   THE    COEHO 


505 


LiTKKATUKE. — Autouio  Siiiigallo  the  elder,  Cod.  Bnrberin.,  i.  '22'.  Cod. 
Barberin.,  xlviii.  f.  3.  Drawing  in  the  Kunstgewerbe  Mu:<eum,  Berlin.  — 
Marcello  Severoli,  Attt  accad.  Cortuna,  vol.  i.  p.  109.  —  Kodolfo  Laneiani, 
L'  arco  di  Portoyallo  {m  Bull,  com.,  1891,  ]).  18).  —  Matz  and  von  Duhn, 
Antike  Bildtcerke  in  Rom,  vol.  iii.  u.  3526.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i. 
p.  409,  n.  549,  550. 


Kig.  198.  —  Tlie  so-called  Arch  of  M.  Aurelius  on  the  Corse,  sketched  by  Ligorio. 

The  Templum  divi  Marci,  which  may  also  be  called  the  Au- 
gusteum  of  his  dynasty,  has  disappeared  so  completely  that  topo- 
graphers are  still  discussing  where  to  place  it.  Nibby  believes  it 
to  be  represented  in  the  third  bas-relief  of  the  arch  now  in  the 
Torlonia  Palace. 

The  CoLUMNA  DIVI  Marci  et  div^  Faustina,  also  called 


506  URBS   SACRA  REGIONUM  XIV 

CoLUMNA  Centenaria  (one  hundred  feet  high)  and  "  Column 
of  Marcus  Aurelius,"  was  raised  in  or  about  the  year  a.  d.  176  in 
commemoration  of  the  satisfactory  issue  of  the  Germanic  and 
Sarmatian  wars  fought  by  the  Roman  army  under  M.  Aurelius. 
This  monument,  designed  in  imitation  of  Trajan's  Column,  has 
been  lately  cast,  photographed,  and  minutely  studied  by  Professor 
Petersen  of  the  German  Institute,  who  has  already  given  us  a 
foretaste  of  the  results  of  his  work  in  the  "  Beiblatt  zum  Fahrbuch 
des  Archiiologischen  Instituts,"  vol.  xi.  1896,  pp.  2-18.  Professor 
Petersen  treats  the  various  points  of  the  subject  in  the  following 
order :  the  history  of  the  column,  the  history  of  the  double  war, 
the  erection  of  the  column,  its  structure,  the  chronology  of  its 
historical  reliefs  (bellum  Germanicum  and  bellum  Sarmaticum), 
the  ornaments  of  the  pedestal.  The  whole  artistic  and  archaeo- 
logical apparatus  will  be  published  shortly  in  a  magnificent  and 
richly  illustrated  volume. 

There  are  two  (?)  other  monuments  in  Rome  commemorating 
the  wars  in  which  Marcus  Aurelius  was  engaged  during  the  last 
fourteen  years  of  his  reign,  against  the  Germanic  Marcomanni  or 
Quadi  and  against  the  Sarmatian  Jazygi :  the  panels  from  the 
triumphal  arch  raised  to  him  between  the  Curia  and  the  Career, 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Clivus  Argentarius  (which  may  be  called 
the  beginning  of  the  Via  Flaminia)  from  the  Forum;  and  the 
sarcophagus  from  the  Vigna  Ammendola,  now  in  the  Museo  Capi- 
tolino,  ground  floor,  second  room  on  the  right.  No.  5.  The  panels 
are  now  set  up  in  the  walls  of  the  first  landing  of  the  staircase  of 
the  Conservatori  Palace.  (See  Helbig's  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  406,  n. 
544-546;  and  Lanciani's  L'  aula  e  gli  utfici  del  senato  Romano, 
p.  15.)  The  bas-reliefs  of  the  sarcophagus,  discovered  in  the 
Vigna  Ammendola  in  1830,  were  identified  by  Dr.  Blackie  in  1831 
as  representing  a  battle-scene  of  the  same  wars.  The  workman- 
ship, he  said,  was  necessarily  different  from  that  of  the  column, 
because  the  reliefs  of  the  coffin  were  to  be  seen  quite  near  to 
the  pavement  of  the  square,  those  of  the  pillar  at  a  great  height 
from  it.  The  figures,  therefore,  are  naked  and  anatomically  per- 
fect in  the  first  case,  whilst  in  the  other  they  are  draped  and 
"  sketchy."  Dr.  Blackie  thinks  that  one  of  the  leading  officers  of 
M.  Aurelius  may  have  been  buried  in  the  sarcophagus.  His  state- 
ments, however,  have  not  been  accepted  by  archaeologists,  who 
believe  the  barbarians  to  be  Gauls  and  not  Germans.^ 

1  Literature.  —  Annal.  Inst.,  1831,  p.  287,  pis.  30,  31.  —  Revue  archeolo- 
f/ic/ue,  vol.  iii.  1889,  p.  331,  n.  4.  —  Wolfgang  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  304,  n. 
422. 


THE    COLUMN   OF   MARCUS   AURELIUS  507 

The  column  stood  in  the  middle  of  a  square  probably  inclosed 
by  a  portico.  Ligorio  (Cod.  Torin.,  xv.  f.  101')  sketched  a  beautiful 
base  as  belonging  to  one  of  the  "  edifices  of  the  Corinthian  order 
bordering  on  the  square,  in  which  many  marbles  and  blocks  of 
stone  have  been  dug  up  and  destroyed  by  stonecutters."  The 
columns  were  probably  of  pavonazzetto.  The  pavement  of  the 
square,  4.75  metres  lower  than  the  present  one,  was  of  slabs  of 
travertine  resting  on  a  bed  of  concrete  0.33  metre  thick.  A  bronze 
finger,  probably  from  the  statue  of  the  Emperor  on  the  top  of  the 
pillar,  was  discovered  by  Marchese  Ferraioli  in  1872  in  the  founda- 
tions of  his  palace  on  the  south  side  of  the  piazza.  It  is  now  ex- 
liibited  in  the  Room  of  Bronzes  of  the  Conservatori  Palace. 

In  the  ^Middle  Ages  the  column  became  the  property  of  the 
nu)nks  of  S.  Silvestro  (SS.  Dionysii  et  Silvestri  in  Catapauli). 
An  inscription  in  the  vestibule  of  the  present  church,  dated  1119, 
states  that  both  the  column  and  the  little  church  of  S.  Nicholai 
de  Columna,  which  stood  close  to  it,  were  leased  to  the  highest 
bidder  by  the  monks,  probably  from  year  to  year.  The  column 
was  evidently  rented  on  account  of  the  profit  which  could  be 
derived  from  pilgrims  or  tourists  wishing  to  ascend  it.  For  a 
similar  reason  (rather  than  for  taking  care  of  and  watching  the 
monument)  an  application  was  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Septimius 
Severus  in  193  by  a  freedman  named  Adrastus,  for  the  right  of 
building  a  lodge  in  its  neighborliood  —  "  in  conterminis  locis  " 
—  where  he  and  his  successors  coidd  more  easily  attend  to  their 
duty.  The  application  was  granted,  and  Adrastus  received  also  a 
free  supply  of  bricks  and  tiles,  and  ten  cartloads  of  timber  from 
the  Imperial  administration.  Like  a  wise  and  cautious  man,  lie 
caused  the  official  correspondence  about  this  business  to  be  en- 
graved, word  by  word,  on  the  door-posts  of  his  lodge.  These  valu- 
able documents,  dated  from  August  (J  to  September  9,  a.  d.  193  —  a 
remarkably  short  period  for  such  a  ti'ansaction  —  were  discovered 
in  situ  in  1777  in  the  Piazza  di  Monte  Citorio  on  the  right  of  the 
obelisk,  and  removed  to  the  Museo  Pio-Clementino.  (See  Corpus 
Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1585,  a,  b.) 

The  abacus  of  the  capital  of  the  column  and  the  "loggia"  on 
the  outside  of  it  can  be  reached  by  a  spiral  staircase,  now  entered 
from  the  south  side,  and  formerly  from  the  (east)  side  facing  the 
Via  Flaminia.  There  are  203  steps  (185  in  that  of  Trajan)  and 
56  loopholes  (46  in  Trajan's),  each  looking  towards  the  cardinal 
points.  The  existence  of  so  many  openings  makes  the  pillar 
weaker,  so  that  the  cracks  of  the  great  rings  of  marble  run  mostly 
through  them. 


508  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

Sixtus  V.  spent  9284  scudi  in  repairing  the  cokimn,  injured  by 
time,  fire,  lightning,  and  earthquakes.  The  vignettes  of  Lafreri 
(1550),  Gamucci  (1565),  du  Perac  (1573),  Cavalieri  (1585),  and  the 
frescoes  in  the  Vatican  library,  show  to  what  an  insecure  state 
it  was  reduced  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteefith  century  (1589). 
The  accounts  of  Domenico  Fontana,  the  architect  of  Pope  Sixtus, 
who  directed  the  repairs,  are  full  of  valuable  information,  espe- 
cially as  regards  the  restoration  of  part  of  the  bas-reliefs.  The 
marble  was  taken  from  the  Septizonium. 

Literature.  —  Antonio  Bertolotti,  Artisti  lombardi  a  Roma,  vol.  i.  p.  80. — 
Carlo  Fea,  Miscellanea,  vol.  ii.  p.  8,  n.  2  ;  and  p.  254.  —  Notizie  del  Giorno, 
March,  1820  ;  and  Dissertazione  sulle  rovine  di  Roma,  pp.  3.32,  348  (in  Winckel- 
mann's  Storia,  vol.  iii.).  — Bull.  Inst.,  1831,  p.  198.  — Bernardo  Gamucci,  Anti- 
chita,  p.  154. — Antonio  Wihhy,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  635.  —  Gio.  Battista 
Pirauesi,  Campus  Martins,  i^.  69  ;  and  Colonna  Antonina,  in  16  sheets.  —  Pietro 
Sante  Bartoli,  Colonna  eretta  in  onore  di  Marco  Aurelio,  in  77  sheets. 

The  CoLUMNA  Divi  Pii  (of  Antoninus)  and  the  Ustrinum 
and  Ara  Antoninorum  were  excavated  in  1703-1704  under  the 
garden  of  the  Cavaliere  Eustachio,  now  occupied  by  the  ex-convent 
of  the  "  Signori  della  Missione,"  west  of  the  Curia  Innocenziana 
(House  of  Parliament).  The  excavations  and  discoveries  have 
been  described  by  Professor  Huelsen  in  a  memoir  on  the  "  Anti- 
chita  di  Monte  Citorio,"  published  and  profusely  illustrated  in  vol. 
iv.  1889,  of  the  "  Mittheilungen,"  p.  41.  The  column,  raised  in 
memory  of  Antoninus  Pius  by  his  sons  M.  Aurelius  and  L.  Verus, 
was  of  red  granite,  14.75  metres  high,  and  rested  on  a  marble 
pedestal  with  high  reliefs  representing  the  apotheosis  of  Antoninus 
and  Faustina  and  a  military  "  decursio."  The  pedestal  and  the 
column  were  removed  to  the  Piazza  di  Monte  Citorio,  to  be  re- 
erected  in  front  of  the  Curia  Innocenziana ;  but  the  project  was 
given  up  after  a  fire  which  consumed  the  wooden  shed  under  which 
the  shaft  was  lying.  Pieces  of  the  half-charred  shaft  were  used 
in  the  restoration  of  the  obelisk  of  Augustus  raised  by  Pius  VI. 
in  the  same  piazza,  and  the  pedestal,  restored  by  de  Fabris,  was 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  Giardino  della  Pigna  in  the  Vatican. 
Leo  XIII.  has  caused  it  to  be  removed  to  the  hemicycle  of  Pius 
IV.,  at  the  north  end  of  the  same  gardens. 

Literature.  —  Giovanni  Vignoli,  De  columna  Antonini.  Eome,  1705.  — 
Francesco  Cancellieri,  Bella  colonna  di  Antonino.  Rome,  1821.  —  Journal  des 
Savants,  vol.  xxxii.  p.  542  ;  vol.  xxxiii.  p.  785.—  Giornale  dei  Letterati,  vol. 
v.  p.  12.  —  Cof/.  vatic,  mn,  f.  41;  902.3,  f.  224.  —  Francesco  Ficoroni,  Piombi 
antichi.     Rome,   1740,  p.  6.  —  Francesco  Posterla,   Rayguarjlio  di  r/uanto  si 


THE   HARBOR   OF  ROME  509 

operain  per  V  innahamtnto  della  colonna  Anionina.  Rome,  1705.  —  Carlo  Fea, 
.Ui.<cellonea,  vol.  i.  p.  cxxiii.  —  Corpuf  Iii.<cr.,  vol.  i.  n.  1004.  —  De  Fabris,  // 
pitdiMallo  della  colonna  Antonina.  Rome,  184(5.  —  Liiigi  Bruzza,  Annal.  Inst., 
1870,  p.  i:jl,  pi.  G,  3.  —  Gio.  Battista  Piranesi,  Campus  Martins,  p.  53,  tav. 
xxxii. 


THE  HARBOR  OF  ROME  AXD  THE   COMMERCIAL  QUARTERS 
OX  THE  LEFT  BAXK  OF   THE  TIBER. 

LVIII.  The  commercial  quarters  occupied  a  considerable  space 
of  the  city  ground  on  the  left  of  the  Tiber,  reaching  inland  as  far 
a.s  the  cliffs  of  tlie  Capitoline  and  of  the  Aventine,  and  down 
stream  from  the  Theatre  of  Marcellus  (Piazza  Montanara)  to  the 
neighborhood  of  S.  Paolo  fuori  le  Mura.  The  places  of  interest 
in  this  region  were^ 

The  Forum  HoUtorium.  I   The  temples  of  Ceres,  Mater  Matuta, 

Several  porticoes.  |        and  Fortuna   Vlrilis. 

The    temples    of    Juno,  Hope,    and    j    The  Stafio  Annona;. 

Piety.  The    wharves    and     warehouses    for 

The  Forum  Boarium.  grain,  marble,  salt,  lead,  bricks,  etc. 

The  pool  of  the  Tiber  began  \vitli  the  last  of  the  city  bridges 
and  extended  as  far  as  the  reach  of  the  Vicus  Alexandri,  2500 
metres  below  the  Porta  Ostiensis,  where  the  larger  sea-going  ves- 
sels were  obliged  to  take  to  the  moorings  to  avoid  the  sand-banks 
and  the  exceedingly  sharp  turns  of  the  up[>er  channel.  As  the 
Pons  Sublicius  can  be  compared  to  a  certain  extent  with  London 
Bridge,  so  the  Vicus  Alexandri  may  be  called  the  Gravesend  of 
ancient  Rome.  The  Pons  Sublicius,  by  preventing  vessels  furnished 
with  masts  from  reaching  the  wharves  up  stream,  divided  tlie 
navigation  of  the  noble  river  into  two  sections,  the  maritime  and 
the  fluvial.  Bargees,  porters,  lightermen,  pilots,  sailors,  skippers, 
underwriters,  etc.,  connected  with  the  maritime  section  were 
probably  called  infernates,  an  adjective  which  is  better  explained 
in  tlie  "  Corpus  Inscr.,"  vi.  n.  1639,  by  the  phrase  "  infra  pontem 
sublicium."  below  bridges ;  those  connected  with  the  section  above 
bridges  were  probably  called  supernates. 

These  rowdy  crowds  lived  mostly  in  the  slums  of  the  Trastevere, 
under  the  watch  of  tlie  vigiles.  Sailors  from  foreign  lands  placed 
their  interests  in  the  hands  of  their  respective  consuls  or  ttp6i,evoi, 
of  whom  many  records  have  been  found  at  Porto,  at  Ostia,  and  in 
Rome  itself.  These  foreigners  were  also  allowed  to  worship  their 
own  gods.  0eo!  irarpuoi.  in  places   appointed  by  the    Harbor  and 


510  URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM   XIV 

Docks  Commissioner.  We  find,  therefore,  some  of  the  consuls  in- 
vested at  the  same  time  with  commercial  and  religious  functions. 
The  copious  and  highly  interesting  epigraphic  material  collected 
in  vols.  vi.  and  xiv.  of  the  "  Corpus  "  on  the  subject  of  the  harbor 
of  Rome,  and  of  the  motley  crowd  which  thronged  its  .quays,  has 
not  yet  been  examined  synthetically.  Such  a  study  would  make 
us  acquainted  with  many  details  regarding  the  various  lines  of 
navigation,  the  quantity  and  quality  of  merchandise  imported  and 
exported,  the  corporations  of  tradesmen  haunting  the  wharves 
(portits,  ripce)  and  the  warehouses  (liorreci),  the  police  of  the  river, 
etc.i 

Fi"om  the  point  of  view  of  topography  and  of  existing  remains, 
we  must  confine  ourselves  to  the  following  brief  considerations  :  — 

The  left  bank  of  the  river,  within  the  limits  above  stated,  was 
divided  into  sections  or  wharves,  called  portus  or  harbors.  The 
wharves  did  not  protrude  into  the  river :  they  were  simply  sections 
of  the  quay  or  embankment,  provided  with  landings,  stairs,  or 
inclines,  and  niooring-rings,  parallel  with  the  stream,  and  destined 
for  a  particular  kind  of  trade, — for  marbles,  wine,  oil,  lead,  pot- 
tery, building-materials,  fish,  fuel,  timber,  iron,  and  so  forth. 
They  were  named  from  their  special  appropriation,  as  the  Portus 
vinarius,  lignarius,  etc. ;  or  from  the  owner  of  the  wharf,  as  the  Por- 
tus Licinii,  Portus  Vargse ;  or  from  the  seaport  with  which  the 
trade  was  carried  on,  such  as  the  Portus  Neapolitanus,  etc.  The 
name  portus  for  a  wharf  has  survived  to  the  present  day,  although 
their  number  has  been  reduced  to  two  (Porto  della  Legna  and 
Porto  della  Pozzolana).  The  classic  name  of  r-ijja  for  a  quay  or 
embankment  would  also  have  survived,  had  it  not  been  officially 

1  Inscriptions  speak  of  "  mei'catores  frumentarli  et  olearii  Afrarii,"  im- 
porters of  wheat  and  oil  from  Northern  Africa  (n.  1620);  of  "  negotiatores 
olearii  ex  Ba;tica,"   importers  of  oil  from  Andalusia  (n.  1025,  b),  also  called 

■ "  mercatores  olei  hispani  ex  provincia  Bsetica  "  (n.  19.'54) ;  of  "negotiantes 
vini  Ariminensis,"  importers  of  wine  from  the  Northern  Adriatic  coast  (n. 
1101);  of  "negotiantes  boarii  qui  invehent."  importers  of  cattle  (n.  1035), and 

,  so  on.  Engaged  in  the  river  trade  and  in  harbor  operations  were  the  "  codi- 
carii,"  also  called  "codicarii  navicularii,"  forming  the  crew  of  light  ships  em- 
ployed in  transporting  the  corn  from  Ostia  to  Rome  (Marquardt,  Staatsveru\, 
ii.  110);  the  "curatores  navium  amnalium  et  marinarum,"  whose  duties  in  ref- 
erence to  river  barges  and  sea-going  vessels  are  not  well  defined;  the  "  leuun- 

.  cularii,"  patrons  of  skiffs;  the  "lenuncularii  traiectuum,"  specially  engaged 
in  ferrying  men  and  merchandise  from  one  bank  to  the  other;  the  "fabri 
navales,"  shipbuilders  or  repairers;  the  "  stuppatores "  or  calkers  ;  the 
"saburrarii,"  loaders  and  unloaders  of  ballast;  the  "scapharii,"  boatmen  and 
bargees;  the  "  urinatores,"  divers,  etc.     See  Corpus,  vol.  xiv.  p.  .581. 


THE   FORUM  HOLITORIUM  511 

substituted  by  that  of  "  Lungo  Tevere."  Aud  we  have  come  to 
the  point  of  having  a  section  of  the  embankment  called  "  Lungo 
Tevere  Ripa  "  ! 

A''egetables,  imported  by  land  or  water,  were  put  for  sale  in  a 
special  market  called  the  — 

LIX.  Forum  Holitorium  (see  p.  458).  —  Its  site  corresponds 
with  that  of  the  Piazza  Montanara.  It  was  surrounded  by  stately 
buildings,  like  the  Theatre  of  Marcellus,  the  Temple  of  Apollo, 
the  Porticus  Minucia,  and  the  four  temples  of  Juno  (Sospita?),  of 
Janus,  of  Spes,  and  of  Pietas.  Remains  of  the  Porticus  Minucia 
can  be  seen  under  the  houses  Nos.  27  and  34  on  the  east  side  of  the 
piazza,  and  also  in  the  Via  della  Bufola,  under  the  house  No.  35, 
belonging  to  Augusto  Castellani.  Others  were  discovered  and 
destroyed  in  December,  1879,  during  the  demolition  of  a  block  of 
houses  at  the  south  end  of  the  Piazza  INIontanara.  The  Porticus 
Minucia  is  built  of  travertine,  and  its  jiilasters  are  crowned  with 
Doric  capitals. 

Opposite  the  portico  and  in  a  j^arallel  line  with  it,  under,  within, 
and  around  the  church  of  S.  Nicola  in  Carcere  —  so  named  from 
the  Byzantine  state  prison  of  Rome,  which  opened  on  the  adjoin- 
ing street  of  Porta  Leone  (Pierleoni)  —  are  the  remains  of  three 
temjiles  of  the  time  of  the  Republic  —  two  of  the  Ionic,  one  of  the 
Doric  order. 

The  Temple  of  Hope,  built  about  253  b.  c.  by  Aulus  Atilius 
Calatinus,  in  fulfillment  of  a  vow  made  during  the  Spanish  cam- 
paign, is  the  nearest  to  the  Theatre  of  JNIarcellus.  The  middle 
temple,  the  largest  of  the  three,  of  Ionic  architecture  like  the  pre- 
ceding one,i  is  considei-ed  to  be  the  Templum  Pietatis  vowed  by 
Manius  Acilius  Glabrio  at  the  battle  of  Thermopylae,  and  built 
and  dedicated  by  his  son  in  181  b.  c.  The  question  has  been  asked 
whether  or  not  the  name  of  Piety  was  connected  with  the  legend 
of  the  pious  daughter  who,  with  the  milk  of  her  breast,  kept  alive 
her  father,  sentenced  to  death  by  starvation  in  the  prison  built  by 
Appius  the  decemvir.  The  legend,  however,  is  much  later  than 
the  temple  itself.  In  the  excavations  made  in  1808  by  the  archi- 
tect Valadier  the  pedestal  of  an  equestrian  statue  was  found  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  in  front  of  the  temple ;  the  same,  most  likely,  as 
that  mentioned  by  Livy. 

1  The  volutes  of  the  capitals  of  the  columns  differ  from  the  ordinary  tj'pe, 
and  attracted  the  attention  of  Rapliael  by  their  singularity.  Compare  Winckel- 
mauu's  Storia  delle  Arti,  vol.  iii.  p.  59. 


512  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

The  third  and  smallest  temple,  of  the  Doric  order,  is  considered 
to  be  the  one  vowed  to  Juno  Sospita  by  CnPBus  Cornelius  Cethegus 
during  his  encounter  with  the  Insubrian  Gauls  in  197  B.  c.  To 
study  these  interesting  remains,  it  is  necessary  to  make  the  tour  of 
the  block  of  houses  within  which  the  church  of  S.  Xicola  is  con- 
fined, and  also  to  descend  into  the  crypt,  where  some  interesting- 
details  can  be  seen.     (Apply  to  the  sacristan.) 

When  Byron  was  in  Rome,  the  crypt  was  shown  to  him  as  the 
real  prison  of  Appius  the  decemvir,  and  to  it  he  dedicated  the 
well-known  stanza  commencing  with  the  verse,  "  There  is  a  dun- 
geon in  whose  dim  drear  light."  The  name  of  S.  Pietro  in 
Carcere  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the  Life  of  Urban  II.  (1088- 
99),  but  it  is  of  earlier  origin.  Compare  Duchesne,  "  Liber  pontifi- 
calis,"  vol.  i.  p.  515,  n.  13  ;  and  vol.  ii.  p.  295,  n.  12,  13. 

The  area  of  the  Forum  Holitorium  between  the  three  temples 
and  the  Porticus  Minucia  is  paved  with  slabs  of  travertine. 
Valadier  saw  the  pavement  in  1808,  and  I  traced  it  myself  for  a 
length  of  30  or  40  metres  on  November  20,  1875.  In  the  middle 
of  it  stood  the  Colunma  Lactaria,  where  infants  were  exposed  and 
abandoned  to  public  charity.  Here  also  auctions  were  held.  No 
traces  are  left  of  the  "  Templum  Jani  apud  Forum  Holitorium  " 
built  by  C.  Duilius,  reconstructed  by  Tiberius,  the  anniversary 
feast  of  which  fell  on  August  17. 

Literature. —  Pietro  Bellori,  Veatiff.  vet.  Romxe,  p.  1.  —  Corjyus  Inscr.,  vol. 
vi.  n.  562,  979,  1113,  29,8-30.  — Adolf  Becker,  Tojwr/raphie,  pp.  259,  G02. - 
Antonio  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  17.  —  Nofizle  degli  Scavi,  187fi,  p.  138; 
1879,  p.  314.  The  fundamental  designs  for  the  whole  group  are  by  Baldassave 
Peruzzi,  marked  477,  478,  536,  537,  573,  631  in  the  Uffizi  collection.  See  also 
Piranesi,  Camp.  Mart.,  y>1.  xiv. — Bt'srln-eibiuir/,  vol.  iii.  3(6-13).  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1875,  p.  173. —  Otto  IlirsehtVld,  Verwaltungsgeschichte,  p. 
134;  and  Philologus,  xxix.  63.  — Theodor  Mommscn,  Staatsrecht,  ii^,  p.  1053. 

LX.  Forum  Boarium  (the  cattle  wharves  and  cattle  market).  — 
A  remarkable  inscription  discovered  in  1892  on  the  Via  Prpenestina 
speaks  of  a  cattle-dealer  as  one  of  the  celebrated  men  of  the  age : 
"  To  the  memory  of  M.  Antonius  Terens,  from  Misenum,  elected 
to  the  highest  offices  in  his  native  city,  a  most  famous  importer  of 
pigs  and  sheep  "  (negotlatofi  celeherrimo  suarice  et  pecuarice),  etc.^ 
The  supplies  for  the  daily  maintenance  of  the  population  of  Rome 
were  not  brought  in  and  sold  promiscuously  in  one  or  more  mar- 
kets (the  Macella  were  used  for  retail  trade  only),  but  each  whole- 

1  The  tombstone  is  exhibited  in  the  Museo  delle  Terme,  on  the  east  wing  of 
the  cloisters.     See  Bull,  com.,  1891,  p.  318. 


THE   FORUM  BOARIUM  513 

sale  trade  had  its  own  special  place.  The  Forum  Boariiim  was 
set  apart  for  dealers  in  horned  cattle,  the  Vinariuni  for  wine 
merchants,  the  Piscarium  for  fishmongers,  the  Ilolitoriuni  for 
green-grocers,  the  Pistorium  for  importers  of  grain  ;  candles,  paper, 
spices  were  sold  in  the  Horrea  Candelaria,  Chartaria,  Piperataria ; 
the  trade  in  boots  and  shoes  had  its  centre  in  the  Vicus  Sandali- 
arius ;  that  of  perfumes  in  the  Vicus  Tuscus.  Goldsmiths  had 
taken  possession  of  the  Porticus  Margaritaria  on  the  Sacra  Via, 
booksellers  of  the  Argiletum,  copyists  or  antiquaries  of  the  Forum 
Julium.  The  streets,  or  \dci,  Lorarius,  Vitrarius,  Argentarius ; 
the  squai-es,  or  areae,  Pannaria,  Lanataria,  had  pi'obably  been  so 
named  from  the  saddlers,  glaziers,  money-changers,  and  dry-goods 
merchants  who  had  their  shops  in  them.  M.  Antonius  Terens 
must  have  become  celebrated  in  the  pig  market,  Forum  Suarium, 
the  place  of  which  is  still  marked  by  the  church  of  S.  Nicolao  in 
Porcilil)us,  Via  dei  Lucchesi ;  and  in  the  sheep  market.  Campus 
Pecuarius,  the  site  of  which  is  not  known.  Both  places  were 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  pi-efect  of  the  city.  Dealings 
were  regulated  by  strict  rules  engraved  on  marble  in  a  double 
copy  :  one  was  posted  in  the  Porticus  Tellurensis,  the  official  ad- 
vertising place  of  the  Pra^fectura  Urbis  ;  the  other  on  the  market 
itself.  We  possess  the  original  regulations  issued  in  a.  d.  8;i9  by 
the  Prefect  Apronianus  :  one  concerning  the  dealers  in  pigs,  one 
the  dealers  in  sheep.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1770,  1771.) 
The  situation  of  these  two  markets  in  or  near  the  centre  of  the 
city  gives  rise  to  this  question.  Were  they  really  destined  to  actual 
trade  in  cattle?  and  if  so,  how  was  the  daily  passage  of  cattle 
through  the  city  regulated? 

The  inscription  on  the  so-called  "  Arco  degli  Argentieri "  at  S. 
Giorgio  in  Velabro  leaves  no  doubt  that  cattle  were  actually 
bouglit  and  sold  on  the  spot  —  "  negotiantes  Boarii  hvivs  loci 
qui  invehent."  ^  Contracts  are  usually  made  in  such  places  in  the 
presence  of  the  live  animal,  which  is  touched  and  felt  and  valued 
at  a  glance  by  the  importer,  the  butcher,  and  the  mediator.  The 
same  practice  must  have  been  followed  in  the  Forum  Suarium. 
Now  it  seems  impossible  that  some  of  the  main  thoroughfares  of 
the  Imperial "  city,  and  three  or  four  bridges,  should  have  been 
periodically  closed  to  traffic,  for  the  accommodation  of  importers 
of  cattle  driving  their  stock  from  one  market  to  the  other.  I 
believe  that  the  oxen  came  to  the  Forum  Boarium  by  the  river, 
by  barge-loads,  but  for  the  other  animals  I  can  make  no  sugges- 
tion. * 
1  Cui'jms  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  ]0:!5. 


514  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

The  Roman  fova  and  campi  of  this  kind  differed  from  modern 
shambles  and  slaughter-houses  in  this  respect,  that  cattle  were 
only  bought  and  sold  in  their  precincts,  not  slaughtered.  The 
slaughter  took  place  in  the  premises  of  each  butcher,  a  habit  which 
lasted  up  to  Gregory  XVI.  (1838).  Roman  inscriptions  speak  of  a 
Corpus  Confectuariorum,^  makers  and  packers  of  sausages  and 
pig's  meat,  spread  all  over  the  city.  Butchers  also  had  no  special 
quarters,  except  perhaps  in  the  region  of  the  Piscina  pu.blica, 
where  the  "  lanii  piscinenses  "  formed  a  powerful  corporation.^ 
It  is  probable  that  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  oxen  may  have 
taken  place  in  this  remote  district. 

The  Forum  Boarium  is  very  interesting  from  a  monumental 
point  of  view.  It  was  surrounded  by  stately  buildings,  most  of 
which  exist  still  in  a  tolerable  state  of  repair.  These  buildings  ai-e 
the  temples  of  Fortuna  Virilis,  of  Mater  Matuta,  of  Ceres,  Liber, 
and  Libera  (of  Pudicitia  Patricia,  of  Hercules  Victor  destroyed  by 
Sixtus  IV.),  the  Janus,  the  so-called  '"  Arco  degli  Argentieri,"  and 
the  "  Loggia  dei  Mercanti  "  of  ancient  Rome. 

LXI.  Templum  Fortune,  miscalled  Virilis,  built  of  stone 
coated  with  stucco,  in  the  Ionic  style,  on  the  gradient  leading 
from  the  Forum  Boarium  to  the  jl<]milian  bridge.  Antiquailes 
agree  in  identifying  it  with  the  temple  originally  built  by  Servius 
TuUius  about  .557  b.  c,  and  reconstructed  after  a  fire  in  214.  If 
they  are  not  mistaken,  this  would  be  one  of  the  most  ancient  of 
the  Roman  temples  existing,  at  the  same  time  the  best  preserved 
of  all.  It  shows  the  manner  in  which  such  edifices  were  con- 
structed of  the  native  stone  of  the  country,  before  marble  was 
introduced.  Not  only,  therefore,  have  we  evidence  of  the  date 
given  by  the  material ;  but  the  style,  the  purest  and  simplest 
example  of  the  Ionic  order  in  Rome,  proves  the  edifice  to  have 
been  built  at  a  time  when  the  Romans  had  not  commenced  to 
debase  the  fair  proportions  of  Greek  orders  by  attempting  to 
improve  or  to  embellish  them.  It  was  converted  into  a  church  in 
872  by  a  certain  Stephen,  who  walled  up  the  open  intercolumnia- 
tions  of  the  pronaos  to  increase  its  size.  In  the  time  of  Pius  V. 
(1566-72)  it  was  given  to  the  Armenians,  and  from  that  time  has 
been  called  Santa  Maria  Egiziaca.  The  temple  was  excavated 
for  the  first  (?)  time  in  1551,  when  the  inscriptions  given  in 
"  Corpus,"  vol.  vi.  n.  897,  898,  came   to  light.      The  best-known 

1  Corpm  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  1690. 

■-  Wilhelm  Henzen,  Scavi  ufj  hoxco  ilfijli  Arrali.     Rome,  18C8,  p.  10.3. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   FORT  UNA 


515 


Fig.  200.  —  Temple  of  Fortuna ;  Details  of  the  Order. 

ornament  of  the  ancient  sanctuary  was  a  wooden  statue  of  king 
Servins  Tullius,  dressed  in  a  double  toga,  held  in  great  veneration 
by  the  Romans. 

LiTEKATURK.  —  Aiitoiiio  Xibbv,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  17.  —  Corpus  Inscr., 
vol.  vi.  11.897,  898.  —  Sallustio  Peruzzi,  Uffizi,  664.  —  Antonio  Dosio,  ibid., 
2027.  —  Giovanni  Alberti,  Cod.  S.  Sepolcro,  f.  67',  68;  and  Cherubino  Alberti 
ibid.,  f.  26,  27,  42.  —  Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin,  f.  A,  376,  C. 

LXII.  Templum  Matris  Matut.e  (the  so-called  Temf)le  of 
Vesta).  —  No  less  than  ten  names  have  been  attributed  to  this 
graceful  round  temple,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Forum  Boarium. 
The  most  acceptable  of  all  seems  to  be  that  of  Mater  Matuta,  an 
old  Italic  goddess  of  the  dawn  (mane,  matutina),  also  w^orshiped 
as  a  goddess  of  the  sea  and  of  harbors,  like  Ino  Leucothea,  with 
whom  she  was  identitied.  No  better  location  could  have  been 
selected  by  Servius,  the  sujiposed  builder  of  this  temple,  on  the 
bank  of  the  Tiber,  and  at  the  head  of  its  harbor  and  quays.  The 
temple  was  rebuilt  by  the  dictator  Camillus  after  the  capture  of 
Veii ;  but  the  one  the  picturesque  remains  of  wliich  form  the  lead- 
ing landmark  of  the  pi'esent  Piazza  della  Bocca  della  Verita  dates 


516  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

probably  from  the  time  of  Augustus.  It  is  perypterous,  formed  by 
twenty  Corinthian  columns,  of  which  only  one  is  wanting.  As  in 
the  case  of  the  Temple  of  Fortune,  we  owe  its  preservation  to  its 
having  been  dedicated  to  Christian  uses.  The  Savelli,  by  whom  it 
was  offered  to  S.  Stefano  (delle  Carrozze),  walled  up  the  spaces 
between  the  columns.  In  1500  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of 
S.  ]Maria  del  Sole.  At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  inter- 
coluniniations  were  reopened,  the  building  was  restored  and  pro- 
tected by  railings,  and  the  roof  was  repaired.  At  the  same  time  the 
accumulation  of  soil  between  the  tw^o  temples  (of  Matuta  and  For- 
tuna)  was  removed,  and  the  steps  were  exposed  to  view.  These 
excavations  are  described  by  Guattani  in  "  Roma  antica,"  vol.  i.  p. 
93,  note.  It  was  then  ascertained  that  the  Augustan  marble  temple 
rests  on  the  Republican  structure,  the  foundations  and  steps  of 
which  were  not  removed  or  taken  away,  but  simply  covered  by  the 
new  superstructure  of  marble.  No  better  example  of  such  a  con- 
tingency, I  mean,  of  the  chronological  vicissitudes  and  of  the  archi- 
tectural transformation  of  a  temi^le,  can  be  found  within  the  walls. 

The  temple  ran  a  certain  risk  in  1827  when  a  visionary  —  repre- 
sentative of  a  race  which  is  not  yet  extinct  —  obtained  from  the 
government  of  Leo  XII.  permission  to  cut  a  deep  hole  inside  the 
cella  to  discover  a  buried  treasure  of  the  Savelli.  The  following 
illustration  of  this  extraordinary  search  is  taken  from  a  sketch 
made  by  Valadier  while  it  was  going  on  (Fig.  201).  Needless  to 
add,  no  treasure  was  found. 

The  Temjile  of  the  Mater  Matuta  is  often  mentioned  by  Livy : 
first  in  394  b.  c,  when  Camillus  "  fedem  Matutte  matri  refectam 
dedicavit  "  (v.  19,  23)  ;  again  in  21.5,  wdien  the  whole  quarter  "  inter 
Salinas  et  portam  Carmentalem  "  was  destroyed  by  fire,  its  damages 
being  repaired  the  following  year  (xxiv.  47  to  xxv.  7) ;  and  lastly 
in  198,  when  L.  Stertinius  raised  two  arches  in  the  Forum  Boarium 
with  the  spoil  of  the  Spanish  war :  one  opposite  the  Temple  of 
Fortune,  one  opposite  that  of  INIater  Matuta.  The  cella  of  this 
last  contained  among  other  things  the  •'  elogium "  of  Tiberius 
Sempronius  Gracchus,  and  a  plan  of  the  island  of  Sardinia. 

Literature.  —  Adolf  Becker,  Topographic,  p.  483.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  To- 
poc/raphie,  vol.  i.  part  ii.  p.  484.  —  Antonio  Sangallo,  Cod.  Barberin.,  f.  .37. — 
Sailustio  Peruzzi,  Uffizi,  655,  689.— Antonio  Dosio,  ibid.,  2024.  —  Palladio, 
Vatican.,  9838,  p.  3.—Notizie  Scavi,  1895,  p.  458. 

LXIII.  Templum  Cereris  Liberi  Liber^eque  (Temple  of 
Ceres,  Bacchus,  and  Proserpina),  vow^ed  by  A.  Postumius,  dictator 


•>5*1,       f  .1, 


V        V     •  I 


f  r 


518  URBS    SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 

497  B.  c,  while  j^ressed  by  famine  in  the  Latin  war,  and  dedicated 
by  Spurius  Cassius,  consul  49-1:  b.  c.  It  was  designed  in  Tuscan 
style,  and  built  mostly  of  painted  terra-cotta  panels  nailed  on  a 
wooden  frame,  the  joint  work  of  Damophilos  and  Gorgasos.  Taci- 
tus includes  it  among  the  sacred  edifices  the  restoration  of  which, 
begun  by  Augustus,  was  finished  by  Tiberius  in  a.  d.  17.  Vitruvius 
says  it  was  areostyle,  with  wooden  architraves  resting  on  columns 
of  the  Tuscan  order.  It  was  destroyed  by  Pope  Hadrian  I.  to  please 
the  Greek  colony  settled  in  the  neighborhood  (Schola  Gr?eca,  772- 
795),  as  it  threatened  to  crush  in  its  fall  their  national  chiu'cli  of 
S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin.  There  are  only  two  fragments  of  the  walls 
of  the  cella  left  standing :  one  in  the  crypt  of  the  church  just  men- 
tioned, one  in  the  courtyard  of  the  sacristy.     (See  Fig.  203.) 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  2181,  2182.  —  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  xxxv.  45.  — 
Mario  Crescimbeni,  Z)/rtCOB/rt  (/*'  S.Maria  in  Cosmedin.  Kome,  1715. — Bull, 
com.,  1876,  p.  181. — Antonio  Xibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  654.  —  Gio.  Bat- 
tista  Giovenale,  Annuario,  1895,  dtW  associazione  arllstica  fra  i  cultori  di  archi- 
tettura  in  Roma^  p.  1.3. 

LXIV.  The  Jaxus  and  the  Arch  of  Severus  and  Cara- 
CALLA.  —  Near  the  church  of  S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro  stands  a  four- 
faced  arch  of  considerable  size,  entirely  built  of  marble  in  the  style 
of  the  decadence  prevailing  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century^ 
believed  by  the  common  people  to  be  that  of  the  four-headed  Janus 
represented  on  the  coins  of  Nero.  Each  of  the  four  piers  is  deco- 
rated with  twelve  niches,  apparently  intended  for  the  rece^jtion  of 
statues.  Of  these  niches  eight  are  complete,  four  left  unfinished. 
In  one  of  these  is  a  dooi'way  leading  iip  a  narrow  staircase  to  a 
suite  of  chambers  and  corridors,  scientifically  explored  for  the  first 
time  by  Angelo  Uggeri  at  the  time  of  the  French  invasion.  The 
brick  part  of  the  structure  is  very  bad,  and  in  the  thickness  of  the 
vault  thei-e  are  earthen  vases  (picpiatte)  to  lessen  its  weight,  like 
those  in  the  circus  of  Romulus  and  in  the  mausoleum  of  Helena, 
called  for  this  reason  Torre  Pignattara.  This  singular  building 
belongs  to  a  class  rather  common  in  Rome,  that  of  jalaces  of  shelter 
raised  in  public  markets  for  the  convenience  of  money-lenders  and 
changers,  merchants,  scribes,  etc.  That  this  forum  was  actually 
used  for  transactions  in  the  horned  cattle  trade  is  proved  by  the 
inscription  engraved  on  the  frieze  of  the  graceful  little  arch  near 
by,  upon  one  pier  of  which  the  campanile  of  S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro 
is  raised.  The  inscription  states  that  it  was  built  in  the  year  204, 
in  honor  of  Septimius  Severus,  Caracalla,  Geta,  and  Julia  Domna, 
by  the  "  argentarii  et  negotiantes  boarii  Jiulus  loci  qui  invehent." 


THE  JANUS   AND    THE   ARCH   OF  SEVERUS         519 

(See  Corpus,  vol.  v.  n.  lOoo.)  The  ai'chitects  of  the  Renaissance 
gave  the  most  curious  names  to  this  structure.  Cherubino  Alberti 
calls  it  "  r  arco  di  la  vacha  el  toro,"  the  arch  of  the  cow  and  the 
bull,  presumably  because  of  the  figures  of  these  animals  which 


'7>rrTQ 


Fig.  202.  —  The  Janus  of  the  Forum  Boarium,  the  Arch  of  Severus,  and  the  Church 
of  S.  Giorgio,  from  a  Sketch  by  M.  Heemskerk. 

appear  in  the  bas-relief  ;  and  Giuliano  da  S.  Gallo  "  larcho  didecio," 
the  arch  of  Decius,  a  title  which  remains  inexplicable.  The  ac- 
companying view  of  both  structures  (Fig.  "202)  was  takeii  in  1.536 
by  Martin  Heemskerk. 

LiTEUATur.K.  —  Kmiliano  .Sarti,  lu  Archiv.  Societd  storia  jmtria,  vol.  ix.  p. 
500.  —  Heiiirich  .Jordan,  Topofjraphle,  vol.  i"-2,  p.  470.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani, 
Ancient  Rome,  p.  2!»r);  and  Bull.  Inst.,  1871,  ]).  9. 

LXV.  Statio  Axxox.e,  the  residence  of  the  prtefectus  Annonse, 
the  headquarters  of  the  administration  of  public  supplies,  and  the 
"  loggia  dei  Mercanti  "  of  ancient  Rome.  Discoveries  made  at 
various  times  had  already  indicated  the  neighborhood  of  S.  Maria 
in  Cosmedin  as  the  probable  seat  of  tliis  department.  When  the 
Piazza  della  Bocca  della  Yerita  was  lowered  in  1715,  a  pedestal 
dedicated  to  C'onstantine  by  ]Madalianus,  prfefectus  Annoufe,  was 
discovered  in  front  of  the  church.  The  banks  of  the  Tiber  on 
either  side  of  the  piazza  were  occupied  by  public  buildings  con- 
nected with,  and  dependent  on,  the  statio,  which  must  have  been 


520 


URBS   SACRA   REGION UM  XIV 


a  great  edifice  iu  itself,  with  a  large  staff  of  officials  of  the  "  fiscus 
frumentarius,"  of  the  "  tabularium,"  etc.  The  statio  must  have 
been  established  here  in  the  remotest  period  of  Roman  history,  at 
least  since  the  famine  of  437  b.  c,  when  L.  Minuciiis  was  created 
prsefectus  Annonae  (Livy,  iv.  13),  because  the  monument  commem- 
orating his  services  was  erected  precisely  in  this  neighborhood. 
The  monument  took  the  characteristic  shape  of  a  column,  made 


— n    n  ■      ) 
O 

b  2 

STATIO     q    S  ANNONAE      ;  ;  URBlS    ROMAEja 


^X  X  X,  .>x  ,-■--  '-'^-l-'-J 
jW'Ei     ]3'     !3    mm    m 

Porch   of  jo  ^  QJ   1718 

Piazza    dclla     1°. p},    Bocca    della    \'erita 

Fig.  203.  —  Plan  of  S.  Maria  iu  Cosmedin. 


with  stone  mortars  for  grinding  corn,  placed  one  above  the  other. 
The  same  motive  of  decoration  is  to  be  found  in  the  torn!)  of  the 
prince  of  Roman  bakers,  M.  Vergilius  Eurysaces,  discovered  in 
1838  outside  the  Porta  Maggiore.     The  remains  of  the  statio  An- 


THE   ST  AT  10   ANNONj^E 


521 


noiia>  were  brouglit  to  light  in  1893  under  rather  curious  circum- 
stances. Architects  and  topographers  were  unanimous  in  admitting 
that  tlie  church  of  S.  JVIaria  in  Cosmedin  occujiied  the  site  of  the 
Temple  of  Cei'es,  described  above.  A  committee  of  the  Society  of 
Roman  Architects  having  been  asked  to  inquire  into  the  possibility 
of  restoring  the  church  to  its  original  type,  doing  away  with  the 
barbarous  restorations  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  most  careful 
search  was  made  to  ascertain  the  age  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
building.  The  result  of  the  search  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
plan,  which  proves  that  the  building  contains  —  (a)  Remains  of 
the  foundations  of  the  temple,  two  thousand  four  hundred  years 
old.  {h)  A  hall  of  the  fourth  century  after  Christ,  with  an  open 
colonnade  on  three  sides,  resembling  the  "  loggie  dei  Mercanti "  of 


Fig.  204.  —  S.  Maria  in  Cosmediu  in  the  Sixteentli  Century. 


our  media?val  cities.  This  was  probably  the  corn  exchange  of 
ancient  Rome,  forming  part  of  the  offices  of  the  prefect  of  the  An- 
nona.  The  columns  and  their  capitals  and  bases  are  of  uneven 
size ;  the  style  of  the  stucco  decorations,  in  the  arches  above  the 
columns,  is  exactly  like  that  of  the  Christian  structures  of  tlie 
fourth  century ;  and  so  is  the  style  of  masonry,  made  up  of  bricks 
and  chips  of  stone  with  no  regularity  in  the  lines  of  the  layers, 
(c)  Remains  of  the  original  Diaconia,  believed  to  be  contemporary 


522  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

with  the  reigns  of  Theodoric  and  Athalaric.  The  Diaconia  occu- 
pied part  of  the  corn  exchange,  without  trespassing  on  the  area  of 
the  temple,  {d)  Remains  of  the  church  rebuilt  and  enlarged  by- 
Pope  Hadrian  I.  about  a.  d.  780.  The  colony  of  the  schola  gneca 
(the  name  is  still  attached  to  the  street  parallel  with  the  south  side 
of  the  church)  having  increased  in  number  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  iconoclastic  persecution  of  725,  their  national  church  "  in  Cos- 
medin  "  became  insufficient  for  their  use.  The  "  Liber  pontificalis  " 
describes  it  as  "  dudum  brevis,  in  aedificiis  existens,  sub  ruinis 
posita,"  a  small  oratory  nestled  among  ruined  edifices.  Hadrian 
I.  spent  one  year  in  demolishing  the  Temple  of  Ceres,  which  is 
called  "  maximum  monumentum  de  tiburtino  tufo  super  eam  (dia- 
coniam)  dependens,"  and  doubled  the  size  of  the  church.  Calixtus 
n.  (1119-24)  connected  in  better  style  the  two  halves  of  the  fifth 
and  the  eighth  centuries.  Under  Boniface  VIII.  (1294-1303) 
Cardinal  Francesco  Caetani,  nephew  of  the  pope,  repaired  the 
edifice,  reducing  it  to  the  form  which  appears  in  the  above  sketch 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  I  found  in  the  Kupferstich  Kabi- 
net  at  Stuttgart  (Grosse  Sammlung,  f.  81,  n.  209). 

Clement  XI.,  between  1715  and  1719,  leveled  the  piazza  and 
built  the  curious  fountain  from  the  designs  of  Carlo  Bizzaccheri. 
The  pope's  nephew,  Annibale  Albani,  built  the  present  fa9ade  and 
spoilt  the  beautiful  bell-tower  by  concealing  some  of  the  finely  cut 
windows  with  an  enormous  clock.  The  last  damages  done  to  the 
building  date  from  1758. 

Literature.  —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vi.  1151  (xiv.  135).  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi, 
Le  horrea  sotto  V  Aveniino  e  la  statio  Annonce  urbis  Romm,  Ann.  Inst.,  1885,  p. 
223.  —  Theodor  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  2d  ed.,  vol.  iii,  p.  468.  —  Marquardt, 
Staatsverui.,  u. 'p.l^a. — Mario  Crescimbeni,  Z' wto/'/a  .  .  .  di  S.  Maria  in  Cos- 
medin.  Rome,  1715.  —  Sallustio  Peruzzi,  Uffizi,  n.  660. —  Annuario  deW  asso- 
ciazionefra  i  cultori  di  architeitura  in  Roma,  anno  v.,  1895,  pp.  13-36.  —  Huel- 
sen,  in  Dissert,  accad.  arch,  jjont.,  1896,  p.  231. 

LXVI.  The  Horrea  Publica  Populi  Romani  (the  grain 
wharves  and  warehouses).  —  The  provinces  bound  to  contribute  to 
the  maintenance  of  Rome  with  their  staple  products  were  Sicily, 
Africa,  Mauretania,  Egypt,  Moesia,  and  Spain.  Aurelian  extended 
the  same  charge  (canon  urbicariuvi)  to  some  regions  of  the  Penin- 
sula, and  to  wine,  oil,  and  wheat  added  the  contribution  of  pork- 
meat.  The  prffifectus  Annon?e  in  charge  of  this  great  branch  of 
Roman  administration  was  represented  in  every  centre  of  produc- 
tion by  one  or  more  officers,  like  the  "  adiutor  prsefecti  Annonse  ad 
oleum  afrum  et  hispanum  recensendum  "  stationed  at  Hispalis, 


THE    GRAIN    WAREHOUSES  523 

Sevilla  (Corpus  Inscr.,  ii.  1180),  to  collect  the  oil  from  Andalusia 
and  from  the  coast  of  Mauretania.  The  recei^dng  officers  stored 
these  "  contributions  en  nature  "  in  cellars  and  granaries  until  the 
fleets  hired  or  kept  for  this  purpose  were  ready  to  sail.  These  pro- 
vincial storehouses  are  called  "  horrea  populo  Romano  destinata  " 
by  Ammianus  (xxviii.  i.  7).  Rusicade  (Stora,  near  Philippeville), 
the  harbor  of  Cirta  (Constantina),  was  one  of  the  great  collecting 
ports,  with  extensive  "  horrea  ad  securitatem,"  or  "  ad  utilitatem 
populi  Romani,"  and  with  a  statue  symbolizing  the  Cienius  Annonte 
sacraj  Urbis.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  viii.  7960,  7975,  etc.)  Among 
the  fleets  employed  to  convey  the  contributions  to  the  harbor  of 
Rome  (see  Pingonneau,  De  convectione  urbane  annonae,  Paris, 
1877),  the  best  known  is  the  Egj^ptian  or  Alexandrine,  which  car- 
ried a  yearly  tribute  of  7,000,000  hectolitres,  or  144,000,000  bushels, 
the  approach  of  which  was  anxiously  watched  from  the  heights  of 
Misenum  and  signaled  at  once  to  Rome.^  Second  in  importance 
to  it  was  the  classis  Af ricana  Commodiana  Herculea.  With  favor- 
able winds  and  smooth  sea,  the  crossing  from  Alexandria  would 
require  but  eleven  days,  from  the  ports  of  Ba^tica  seven,  from  the 
straits  of  i\Iessina  five,  from  the  gulf  of  Lyons  three,  from  the 
nearest  coast  of  Africa  two. 

Grain-laden  vessels  were  of  large  tonnage,  like  the  one  mentioned 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  having  on  board,  besides  its  cargo, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  We  may  judge  of  their  number  from 
the  fact  that  during  a  fierce  gale  in  the  time  of  Xero  not  less  than 
two  hundred  vessels  were  lost  in  the  roads  of  Ostia.  It  seems  that 
wheat  was  not  transported  in  bulk,  for  fear  of  the  cargo  shifting 
to  one  side  or  the  other,  but  in  amphora;  or  earthen  jars. 

A  bas-relief  of  the  Torlonia  ^Museum,  discovered  in  my  presence 
at  Porto,  and  described  in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  2.53,  represents  the 
unloading  of  one  of  these  ships.  "  There  is  a  plank  connecting  the 
ship  with  the  quay,  and  upon  the  plank  a  line  of  sailors  and  porters 
each  carrying  an  amphora  on  the  left  shoulder,  and  a  tessera  or 
ticket  in  the  right  hand.  The  tesserae  are  collected  by  a  customs 
officer  or  a  scribe,  sitting  at  a  desk  with  the  account-book  before 
him." 

The  length  of  the  warehouses  around  Trajan's  dock  at  Porto 
amounts  to  two  miles  and  a  half.     At  Ostia  they  cover  one  third 

1  Literature.  — Ferrero,  L'  ordinamento  delle  armate  Romane,  p.  160. — 
Marquardt,  Handbuch,  vol.  v2,  p.  489. —  Corpus  Inscr.  Gr.,  5973,  etc.  —  Lan- 
fiani,  Bull.  Inst.,  1868,  p.  2.34.  — Visconti,  Bull,  com.,  1881,  p.  52.—  Vita  Corn- 
mod.,  17. 


524  URBS   SACRA  REGIONUM  XIV 

of  the  area  of  the  city.  In  Rome  the  horrea  Galbana  alone  occu- 
pied a  space  of  200  by  155  metres,  and  of  these  public  warehouses 
there  were  two  hundred  and  ninety  in  Rome.  They  were  named 
either  from  their  builder  or  owner,  like  the  horrea  Galbana,  Petro- 
niana,  Leoniana,  Seiana,  Agrippiana,  etc.,  or  from  their  contents, 
like  candelaria,  chartaria,  pij^erataria,  etc.  In  progress  of  time 
others  had  to  be  built  in  the  suburbs,  like  the  horrea  Nervfe  in  the 
farm  now  called  Delia  Nunziatella,  between  the  Via  Ardeatina  and 
the  Via  Ostiensis,  the  "  f  undum  orrea  via  Ardeatina  "  of  the  "  Liber 
pontificalis."  ^ 

No  traces  of  the  horrea  remain  above  ground  in  the  region  of 
Testaccio,  between  the  cliffs  of  the  Aventine  and  the  river ;  but 
many  have  been  found  in  constructing  the  drains  of  the  new 
quarters.  AVith  the  help  of  these  discoveries  I  have  been  able  to 
reconstruct  the  complete  plan  of  the  horrea  Galbte  in  sheet  n.  xl. 
of  the  Forma  Urbis.  The  tomb  of  Sulpicius  Galba,  an  ancestor  of 
the  Emperor  of  that  name,  and  probably  the  founder  of  the  horrea, 
discovered  in  situ  in  1885,  has  been  removed  bodily  to  the  Museo 
Municipale  al  Celio. 

Literature. — Preller,  Die  Regionen,  p.  101. — Luigi  Bruzza,  Bull.  Inst., 
1872,  p.  140.  —  Heinrich  Jordan,  Archceol.  Zeitung,  xxvi.  p.  18;  and  Toyw- 
graphie,  ii.  pp.  68,  104. — Forma  Urbis,  pi.  xliii. — Mommsen,  Ephem.  Epigr., 
vol.  iv.  p.  260. — Enrico  Stevenson,  Iscnzione  relatlm  alle  horrea  Galbiana 
(Bull.  Inst.,  1880,  p.  98).— Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Le  horrea  sotto  I'  Aveniino 
e  la  stntio  AnnoncB  (Ann.  Inst.,  1885,  p.  223,  s^.).  — Giuseppe  Gatti,  Alcune 
os.^ervazioni  sugli  orrei  Galbiani  (Mittheil.,  1886,  pp.62,  65);  and  Frammento 
(V  iscrizione  conienente  la  lex  Jiorreorum  (Bull,  com.,  1885,  p.  110).  —  Wilhelm 
Henzen,  Iscrizione  relativa  alle  horrea  Galbiana  (Mittheil.,  1886,  p.  42). — 
Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Iscrizione  del  sepolcro  di  Galba  (in  Bull,  com.,  1885,  p.  166); 
Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  44;  Ancient  Rome,  p.  250;  Forma  Urhis  Romie, 
pl.xl. 

LXVII.  The  Marble  Wharf  and  Sheds,  ]\Iarmorata. — 
To  the  commercial  transactions  in  the  necessaries  of  life,  we  must 
add  the  trade  in  marbles,  so  brisk  and  active  that,  as  Tibullus  says, 
the  streets  of  the  city  were  always  obstructed  by  carts  laden  watli 
transmarine  columns  and  blocks,  —  columns  measuring  sometimes 
1.97  metre  in  diameter  and  17.66  metres  in  length,  like  those  of 
Trajan's  temple ;  or  blocks  weighing  sometimes  27  tons,  like  those 
belonging  to  the  pediment  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Villa 
Colonna.  When  Marcus  Scaurus  was  collecting  in  84  b.  c.  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty  columns  of  lucullean  marble  required  for 

1  Vol.  i.  p.  202,  ed.  Duchesne.  —Tounnasetti,  Archimo  Societd  storia  jjatria, 
vol.  ill.  p.  14-"{. 


THE    MARBLE    WHARF  525 

the  decoration  of  his  theatre,  the  contractor  for  the  maintenance 
of  public  sewers  sued  him  before  the  magistrates  for  damages 
which  would  eventually  be  done  to  streets  and  drains. 

There  were  two  quays  for  the  landing  and  for  the  storage  of 
marble,  —  one  on  the  bank  under  the  Aventine,  which  still  retains 
the  old  name  of  Marmorata,  another  on  the  banks  of  the  Campus 
Martius,  a  little  above  the  Julian  bridge. 

The  first  was  rediscovered  axid  completely  excavated  by  Baron 
Visconti  in  1868-70. 

Literature.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Bull.  arch,  crlst.,  1868,  pp.  17,  47; 
1870,  p.  7;  1873,  p.  147;  1876,  p.  113;  1883,  p.  81.—  Leoue  Xardoni,  Bull.  Inst., 

1872,  p.  72.— Luigi  Bnizza,  ibid.,  1870,  pp.  9,  -37;  1871,  p.  68;  1872,  p.  134; 

1873,  p.  108;  Sui  marmi  Lunensi  (in  Dissertaz.  accad.  arch.,  p.  389).  —  Rodolfo 
Lanciaui,  Ancient  Borne,  p.  250.  —  Artluir  Schneider,  Bas  Alte  Bom,  Leipzig, 
1896,  taf.  X.  n.  18. 

The  second  marble  wharf  —  directly  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment office  for  the  administration  of  quarries  and  for  the  sale  of 
their  products  —  was  discovei-ed  in  April,  1891,  100  metres  above 
the  bridge  of  S.  Angelo,  in  demolishing  the  teatro  di  Torre  di 
Nona,  which  stood  above  it.  The  structure  looked  like  a  raised 
causeway,  fourteen  metres  wide,  protruding  into  the  river  for 
twenty-six  metres,  at  an  angle  of  40°  with  the  direction  of  the 
stream.  On  each  side  of  the  causeway  there  are  spacious  landings 
built  of  concrete  and  faced  with  a  palisade.  This  palisade,  a  per- 
fect specimen  of  Roman  hydraulic  engineering,  is  made  of  square 
beams  of  quercus  robiu-  from  six  to  eight  meti-es  long,  ending  in 
a  point  protected  by  a  four-pronged  cap  of  iron.  The  beams  are 
fifty-five  centimetres  square,  and  fit  into  each  other  by  means  of 
a  groove  on  one  side  and  a  projection  on  the  other,  shaped  like 
a  swallow's  tail.  Sheets  of  lead  are  nailed  against  the  inner  face 
of  the  palisade,  so  as  to  make  it  thoroughly  water-tight.  A  line  of 
piles  runs  in  front  of  it,  to  protect  it  from  the  friction  of  vessels 
moored  alongside  the  pier.  This  wharf  answered  a  double  pur- 
pose :  for  the  landing  of  the  great  monoliths  used  in  the  buildings 
of  the  Canq)us  ]Martius,  of  the  Pincian  and  Quirinal  hills,  and  for 
the  supply  of  statuarian  marble  to  the  many  artists'  studios  which 
had  sprung  up  in  Imperial  times  in  the  vicinity  of  the  government 
marble  office  (statin  rationis  niarmorum)  at  S.  Apollinare. 

During  the  transformation  of  Rome  and  the  building  of  the 
Campus  Martius  accomplished  by  Augustus  and  his  wealthy 
friends,  the  old  marble  wharf,  at  the  other  end  of  the  city,  could 
not  have  been  used  for  the  purpose  of  landing  the  materials  des- 


526 


UBBS   SACEA   REGIONUM  XIV 


tined  for  these  constructions,  because  the  transportation  of  columns, 
pillars,  and  obelisks  through  the  narrow  and  tortuous  streets  of 
the  ninth,  eleventh,  and  thirteenth  regions  would  have  been  im- 
possible in  some  cases,  difficult  in  others,  and  always  costly  to 
excess.  And  besides,  there  was  no  reason  why  preference  should 
be  given  to  transportation  by  land,  when  the  vessels  loaded  with 
transmarine  marbles  could  easily  be  brought  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  buildings  in  course  of  construction.  The  blocks  were 
evidently  discharged  on  the  side  landings,  level  with  the  water's 


Fig.  205.  —  The  Wharf  for  Landing  Marbles  on  the  Banks  of  the  Campus  Martins. 

edge,  which  have  a  water  frontage  of  a  hundred  metres,  and  then 
raised  by  means  of  cranes  (such  as  the  one  represented  in  the  bas- 
relief  of  the  Haterii,  published,  among  others,  by  Parker  in  part  iv. 
of  the  "  Archaeology  of  Rome,"  plate  xxiii.)  to  the  level  of  the  cause- 
way, and  pushed  on  rollers  (chmmdci)  towards  their  destination. 

LiTERATUKK.  —  Domeiiico  Marclietti,  Di  1111"  antico  molo  per  lo  sharco  dei 
marmi  (in  Bull,  com.,  1891,  p.  45,  pi.  iii).  —  Christian  Huelsen,  Mittheilungen, 
1892,  p.  322. —  Francesco  Azzurri,  Bull,  com.,  1892,  p.  175,  pi.  ix.  — iVo«J2«e 
degli  Scavi,  May,  1890.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1890,  p.  23. 

The  discovery  of  this  new  topographic  featui-e  of  ancient  Rome 


THE    MARBLE    SEEDS  527 

fits  remarkably  well  with  others  previously  made  in  connection 
with  the  sale,  trade,  and  working  of  marbles  in  this  portion  of  the 
Campus  Martius.  When  the  church  of  S.  Apollinaris  was  modern- 
ized and  disfigured  in  1737-40  by  Popes  Clement  XII.  and  Bene- 
dict XIV.,  ruins  and  inscriptions  were  discovered  proving  that 
there  stood  in  old  times  the  Statio  Rationis  Marmorum,  that  is  to 
say,  the  central  office  for  the  administration  of  marble  quarries, 
which  were  the  private  property  and  a  monopoly  of  the  crown. 
Around  this  office,  and  on  each  side  of  the  avenue  connecting  it 
with  the  pier  just  discovered  by  the  Tor  di  Xona,  stone-cutters  and 
sculptors  had  settled  in  large  numbers.  Wherever  the  ground  is 
excavated  between  S.  Andi-ea  della  Valle  and  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  we  are  sure  to  find  traces  of  these  workshops  and  artists' 
studios,  the  site  of  which  is  marked  by  a  layer  either  of  marble 
chips  or  of  that  yellowish  crystalline  sand  which  is  used  to  the 
present  day  for  sawing  the  blocks.  Pietro  Sante  Bartoli,  Flaminio 
Vacca,  Ficoroni,  and  Braun  describe  many  such  shops  found  under 
the  Monte  Giordano,  S.  Maria  dell'  Anima,  the  CoUegio  Clemen- 
tino,  the  Chiesa  Xuova,  etc.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  why  many 
of  these  should  have  been  abandoned  so  suddenly  tliat  works  of 
sculpture  in  an  unfinished  state  have  been  found,  together  with 
the  tools  of  the  trade,  —  hammers,  chisels,  and  files.  A  fact  still 
more  difficult  of  explanation  is  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the 
unfinished  statues  represent  Dacian  kings  or  Dacian  prisonei's,  in 
the  same  characteristic  attitude  of.  sad  i-esignation  which  we  notice 
in  the  prototj^es  removed  from  the  triumphal  arch  of  Trajan  to 
that  of  Constantine  (p.  194).  One  of  these  figures  of  Dacians, 
discovered  in  the  reign  of  Clement  X.  in  the  Via  del  Governo 
Vecchio,  is  now  placed  on  the  staircase  of  the  Altieri  palace ;  a 
second  was  found  in  July,  1841,  under  the  house  Xo.  211  Via  de' 
Coronari  ;  a  third  in  January,  1859,  under  the  house  of  Lnigi 
Vannutelli,  near  the  Via  del  Pellegrino;  a  fourth  in  1870,  under 
the  house  of  Paolo  Massoli  in  the  same  Via  de'  Coronari.  These 
curious  facts  lead  us  to  believe  that  the  jn-oduction  of  the  article 
in  fashion  under  the  rule  of  Trajan,  the  conqueror  of  Dacia,  must 
have  been  in  excess  of  the  demand. 

LXVIII.  Salix.e  (the  salt-warehouses).  —  The  oldest  account 
we  have  of  salt-works  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber  precedes  that 
of  the  foundation  of  Rome.  The  people  of  Veii  had  adapted  to 
the  production  of  salt  one  of  the  shallow  inlets  west  of  the  mouth, 
and  the  quantity  obtained  ^-  by  natural  evaporation  —  was  enough 


528  URBR    SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

to  meet  the  wants  of  the  southern  Etruscans  as  well  as  of  the 
Sabines.  Romulus  gained  temporary  possession  of  the  works. 
Ancus  Marcius  conquered  the  whole  coast,  and  to  insure  the  mon- 
opoly to  the  Romans,  he  founded  Ostia,  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  and  opened  near  it  new  works,  surrounded  and  protected 
by  water  from  possible  hostile  inroads.  The  event  was  celebrated 
by  a  popular  distribution  of  52,520  litres  of  salt  in  the  form  of  a 
bounty.  The  Salinse  ostienses  supplied  for  a  time  the  demand  of 
the  Romans  and  of  the  Sabines,  the  trade  being  so  brisk  that  the 
main  road  uniting  the  two  territories  was  named  Salaria.  Later 
on  a  larger  supply  became  necessary,  and  the  old  salinse  of  Veil 
were  again  brought  into  use,  only  they  changed  their  name  and 
became  the  Salinae  romana;.  From  about  500  b.  c.  to  the  tenth 
century  after  Christ  no  mention  occurs  of  either  works,  except  in 
a  marble  plinth  of  a  statuette  which  a  boatman  of  the  marshes  of 
Campo  Salino  had  used  for  years  for  mooring  his  canoe,  until  a 
sportsman  noticed  its  inscrii)tion  in  the  winter  of  1887.  The 
valuable  document,  now  exhibited  in  Hall  I.  of  the  Museo  Munici- 
pale  al  Celio,  mentions  the  corporation  of  the  porters  (saccarii 
snlarii),  who  carried  the  salt  in  sacks  from  the  Camjaus  Salinarum 
Romanarum  (Campo  Salino)  to  Porto  and  Rome ;  besides  some 
of  their  officers,  and  the  two  intendants  of  the  Emperor  who  had 
the  maiiagement  of  the  monopoly.  It  dates  from  the  time  of 
Septimius  Severus.  The  exact  position  of  the  salt-warehouses  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber  in  Rome  is  indicated  by  Frontinus  (i. 
5),  "  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Publicius  near  the  Porta  Trigemina, 
which  place  is  called  Salinse."  It  is  not  difficult  to  identify  the 
place.  The  warehouses  —  repaired  from  time  to  time  —  were  kept 
thei-e  from  the  time  of  Ancus  Marcius  to  the  spring  of  1888.  The 
glorious  though  unpretending  edifice  was  pulled  down  to  connect 
the  new  Quartiere  di  Testaccio  with  the  city  by  a  convenient 
thoroughfare.  The  same  fate  has  befallen  the  salt-works  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tiber.  Those  of  Campo  Salino  were  abandoned  in 
the  sixteenth  century  ;  those  of  Ostia  in  187-1. 

Literature.  —  Marquanlt,  Staatsre7'wa!timg,  vol.  ii.  p.  154.  —  Antonio 
Nibbj',  Analisi  della  .  .  .  campa[/na  romana,  vol.  ii.  p.  368. —  Lanciaui,  Bull, 
arch,  com.,  1888,  p.  8-3. 

LXIX.  The  Lead- Warehouses.  —  In  Xovember,  1887,  a  mass 
of  pig-lead,  shaped  like  a  punt,  and  weighing  thirty-three  kilos., 
was  discovered  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  near  the  place  called  "  Porta 
I.,eone,"   opposite  the  Ripa  Grande.      It  bore  the  stamp  of  the 


THE    LEAD    WAREHOUSES  529 

company  of  the  argentiferous  mine  of  Mount  ilvcr  (sic),  probably 
a  mistake  for  ilvrco,  and  also  the  word  galena,  which  indicates 
the  kind  of  lead  obtained  from  the  smelting  of  silver  ore.  The 
discovery  of  this  object  is  of  topographical  interest.  The  mass 
must  have  fallen  overboard  when  the  ship  was  unloading  along- 
side the  "  lead  "  wharf.  This,  and  the  corresponding  warehouses, 
both  the  property  of  the  Crown,  were  therefore  situated  on  the 
left  bank,  between  the  "  marble  "  wharf  and  the  Forum  Boarium. 
A  find,  already  mentioned,  p.  432,  gives  an  idea  of  the  activity 
which  pi'evailed  under  the  Empire  in  the  lead  business,  and  which 
must  have  called  into  the  harbor  of  Rome  or  Porto  hundreds  of 
Spanish  vessels.  The  lead  pipe  which  conveyed  the  water  to  the 
Forum  of  Trajan  from  a  reservoir  by  the  Porta  Viminalis  (frag- 
ments of  which  were  found  in  1877  in  the  Piazza  del  Quirinale, 
and  in  1879  in  the  Piazza  di  Termini)  was  1750  metres  long,  and 
weighed  1-33  kilos,  per  metre.  The  whole  pipe  must  have  re- 
quired 232,750  kilos,  of  metal,  nearly  233  tons ;  and  of  these 
conduits  there  were  thousands  in  Rome.  The  one  which  brought 
the  water  to  the  Baths  of  Agrippa,  discovered  about  1620  in  the 
foundations  of  S.  Ignazio,  is  compai'ed  by  Donati  with  the  largest 
guns  (maiores  bomhanUe)  of  the  age.  Another,  discovered  in  1650 
by  the  Borghese  in  their  farm  at  Acqua  Traversa,  measured  67 
centimetres  in  diameter,  and  must  have  weighed  300  kilos,  per 
metre. 

LXX.  The  Brick- Warehouses.  —  A  curious  document  con- 
cerning the  trade  in  the  excellent  products  of  Roman  brick-kilns 
w^as  discovered  in  1877  in  the  catacombs  of  S.  Sebastiano.  It  was 
written  with  a  nail  or  a  sharp  stick  on  a  tile  —  before  the  clay 
was  dried  and  baked  —  and  the  tile  was  afterwards  used  in  wall- 
ing up  a  loculus  of  the  fourth  century.  The  inscription  says, 
"  Beneventus  has  ordered  of  Julius  400  tiles,  to  be  consigned, 
ready  for  shipment,  at  the  Neapolitan  quay."  Other  sheds,  set 
apart  for  the  same  trade,  were  called  Portus  Licini,  Portus  Parrse, 
Portus  Cornelii,  etc.  (See  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  xv.  1,  408,  409,  412  ; 
and  Notizie  Scavi,  1892,  p.  347.) 

LXXI.  The  Monte  Testaccio.  —  The  student  wishing  to 
survey  the  ground  formerly  occupied  by  these  great  establishments 
connected  with  the  harbor  of  Rome  must  make  the  ascent  of  the 
Monte  Testaccio,  which  rises  to  the  height  of  115  feet  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  region  of  the  Horrea.     The  hill  itself  may  be  called  a 


530  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

monument  of  the  greatness  and  activity  of  the  harbor  of  Rome. 
The  investigations  of  Reiffersheid  and  Bruzza,  completed  in  1878 
by  Heinrich  Dressel,  prove  that  the  mound  is  exclusively  formed 
of  fragments  of  earthen  jars  (amphorae,  diotfe),  used  in  ancient 
times  for  conveying  to  the  capital  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
provinces,  especially  of  Baetica  and  Mauretania.  B?etica  supplied 
not  only  Rome,  but  many  parts  of  the  western  Empire,  with  oil, 
wine,  wax,  pitch,  linseed,  salt,  honey,  sauces,  and  olives  prepared 
in  a  manner  greatly  praised  by  Pliny.  Potters'  stamps  and 
painted  or  scratched  inscriptions  of  Spanish  origin,  identical  with 
those  of  Monte  Testaccio,  have  been  discovered  in  France,  Ger- 
many, and  the  British  Islands.  It  appears  that  the  harbor  regula- 
tions obliged  the  owners  of  vessels  or  the  keepers  of  warehouses 
to  dump  in  a  space  marked  by  the  Commissioners  the  earthen 
jars  which  happened  to  be  broken  in  the  act  of  unloading,  or  while 
on  their  way  to  the  sheds.  The  space  was  at  first  very  limited ;  in 
progress  of  time  part  of  a  public  cemetery,  containing,  among 
others,  the  tomb  of  the  Rusticelii  (Corpus,  vi-,  11,534),  was  added 
to  it.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  the  rubbish  heap 
had  gained  a  circumference  of  half  a  mile,  and  a  height  of  over  a 
hundred  feet.  After  the  fall  of  the  Empire  masses  of  fragments 
were  washed  down  the  hill,  and  spread  over  a  considerable  part 
of  the  plain.  In  the  sixteenth  century  quarries  were  opened  on 
the  north  side,  the  material  (coccio  pesto)  being  used  for  maca- 
damizing the  roads.  In  the  saine  century  the  south  side  was  used 
by  the  Bombardieri  of  the  pope  as  butts  for  gun-practice.  The 
first  wine-cellars,  —  the  Grotte  di  Testaccio,  —  known  for  their  apti- 
tude to  improve  the  quality  of  the  stock,  were  excavated  through 
the  heart  of  the  mound  about  1650. 

The  consular  dates  discovered  by  Dressel  on  the  handles  and  on 
the  body  of  the  amphorae  range  between  a.  d.  140  and  255.  The 
upper  strata,  near  the  wooden  cross  (Croce  del  Testaccio),  date 
from  the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century. 

Another  mound  of  the  same  nature,  but  much  smaller  in  size, 
has  been  lately  explored  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  above  the 
Ponte  Margherita,  at  a  place  called  Monte  Secco. 

LiTKRATURE.  —  Heinrich  Dressel,  Ricerche  sul  monte  Testaccio  (in  Annal. 
Inst.,  1878,  p.  118;  and  Bull,  com.,  1893).  —  Otto  Richter,  Topographie,  p.  129. 

Another  place  well  worth  a  visit  before  leaving  this  commercial 
quarter  of  ancient  Rome  is  the  "  Sponda  della  Marmorata,"  where 
there   are   still  traces  left  of  the  great  excavations  of  1868-70. 


THE   MONTE    TEST  AC  CIO  531 

Many  blocks  of  marble  discovered  by  Viscouti  are  to  be  seen  near 
the  cottage  of  the  Custode.  Some  are  roughly  squared,  others 
roughly  shaped  (cibhozzati)  into  columns  or  architectural  pieces 
and  even  into  statues  and  bas-reliefs.  Their  finishing  must  have 
been  given  up  either  on  account  of  a  defect  discovered  in  the 
marble,  or  because  it  was  found  too  hard  or  crystalline  for  the 
chisel  or  the  saw.  Sculptors'  or  stone-cutters'  tools  abound  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  wharf.  (See  Venuti.  Descrizione  topogr.,  vol.  ii. 
p.  45.) 

The  blocks  are  all  distinguished  l)y  one  or  more  marks  referring 
to  the  quarry  from  which  they  were  extracted  (e.  g.,  ex  metallic 
novis  Ccesaris  nostri) ;  to  the  Emperor  who  owned  the  quarry  at 
the  time  (e.  g.,  imperatorum  CcEsarum  Antonini  et  Veri  augustoruni)  ; 
to  the  department  to  which  the  blocks  were  addressed  (e.  g., 
rationi  urbicce)  ;  to  the  number  of  blocks  of  a  special  kind  of 
marble  quarried  during  the  fiscal  year ;  to  the  date  of  the  year ; 
and  so  forth. 

It  seems  that  the  crown  did  not  own  all  the  quarries  of  the 
Empire,  but  only  those  which  could  yield  the  great  blocks  and  the 
great  columns  (of  red  and  gray  granite,  africano,  cipollino,  pavo- 
nazzetto,  portasanta,  white  marble,  etc.)  that  were  necessary  for  the 
decoration  of  Imperial  buildings.  Quarries  of  rare  and  peculiar 
marbles  or  breccias  were  opened  and  worked  by  private  speculators. 
The  Imperial  "  procurator  marmorum  "  had  representatives  (ciirain 
agentes,  /xeraWapxai)  on  the  coasts  of  Asia,  Greece,  Egypt,  Numidia, 
Mauretania,  in  the  ^Egean  Islands,  etc.  Their  duty  was  to  direct 
the  shipment  of  the  product  of  the  local  quarries  to  the  harbor  of 
Rome,  where  it  was  received  by  a  "  tabularius  Portuensis  rationis 
marmorum."  The  transportation,  in  ordinary  cases,  was  effected 
by  means  of  "  naves  lapidaria%"  specially  constructed  by  the  ad- 
ministration for  this  kind  of  trade  ;  in  extraordinary  cases  the 
ship  was  built  in  accordance  with  the  size  of  the  columns  or 
obelisks  which  had  to  be  landed  at  Rome.  Such  were  the  wonder- 
ful crafts  constructed  under  Augustus  and  Caligula  for  the  ship- 
ping of  the  obelisks  of  the  Circus  Maximus  and  of  the  Circus 
Vaticanus  respectively  ;  such,  and  even  larger,  the  one  built  under 
Constantius  for  the  transportation  of  the  obelisk  now  in  the 
Piazza  di  S.  Giovanni.  Caligula's  ship,  which  carried  120,000 
"  modii  "  of  lentils  for  ballast,  was  sunk  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Claudian  harbor  at  Porto,  to  serve  as  foundation  for  the  break- 
water (nniemurale)  and  lighthouse. 

Quarries  were  usually  worked   by  convicts,  the  "danniatio  ad 


532  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

opus  metalli "  being  one  of  the  ordinary  punishments  sanctioned 
by  the  Roman  code.  Tlie  jails  connected  with  the  single  quarries 
were  intrusted  to  the  care  of  a  body  of  warders  under  special 
officers,  independent  from  the  military  comando  of  the  province. 
Letronne  quotes  the  inscription  of  an  Annius  Rufus,  captain  of 
the  XV  Legio  Apollinaris,  detailed  to  act  as  "  prgepositus  operis  mar- 
morum  monti  Claudiano  "  (superintendent  of  the  quarries  of  the 
Claudian  mountain).  The  same  ai'chaeologist  found  in  the  chapel 
attached  to  the  mining  works  of  Khardasy,  Nubia,  an  inscription 
which  seems  to  prove  that  chaplains  were  attached  to  these  penal 
establishments,  and  that  divine  service  was  occasionally  celebrated 
for  the  benefit  of  the  convicts. 

The  Roman  Marmorata  has  been  excavated,  almost  without 
intermission,  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  yet  its  wealth 
in  blocks  and  columns  of  the  rarest  kinds  of  breccias  seems  to  have 
hardly  diminished.  There  is  another  marmorata  on  the  banks  of 
the  Canale  di  Fiumicino,  the  ancient  "  Fossa  Traiana."  Blocks 
were  landed  here  when  the  river  was  too  shallow  for  the  "naves 
lapidarise  "  to  reach  the  harbor  of  Rome.  The  unloading  of  these 
ships,  and  the  transferment  of  their  cargo  to  barges  and  pontoons 
of  lighter  draught,  and  the  navigation  up  the  river  was  (probably) 
the  privilege  of  a  powerful  corporation  called  "  corpus  traiectus 
marmorum." 

Literature.  —  Garofalo,  De  antiquis  marmorihu^.  1743.  —  Faustino  Corsi, 
Delle  pietre  antiche.  Rome,  184.3.  —  Letronne,  Reclierches  pour  striir  a  I'his- 
toire  de  VEr/ypte,  pp.  429-482.  —  Luigi  Bruzza,  Iscriziuni  del  marmi  grezzi,  in 
Ann.  In^t.,  1870. 

THE  AVENTINE. 

(Regions  XII  and  XIII.) 

The  Aventine,  and  its  southeastern  appendix  called  the  "pseudo 
or  smaller  Aventine "  (Monte  di  S.  Balbina),  count  among  the 
few  regions  of  ancient  Rome  which  have  escaped  "moderniza- 
tion." The  panorama  of  the  hill  from  the  terrace  of  the  so-called 
"  Castello  di  Costantino  "  (a  popular  restaurant,  Via  di  S.  Prisca), 
from  the  belfry  of  S.  Alessio,  from  the  tower  of  S.  Balbina,  or 
from  the  upper  portico  of  S.  Saba,  is  perhaps  the  freshest  and 
loveliest  wdthin  the  walls.  Yet,  with  the  exception  of  churches  of 
monumental  interest,  there  is  very  little  left  above  ground  to 
attract  the  classic  student.  The  baths  of  Caracalla  by  SS.  Nereo 
and  Achilleo  and  those  of  the  Decii  in  the  Vigna  Torlonia  are  the 
only  ancient  buildings  which  have  escaped  total  destruction. 


THE   BATHS    OF    CAR  AC  ALL  A 


533 


LXXII.  Therm.*;  Axtoxixian.e.  —  Baths  of  Caracalla  (Fig, 
206),  begun  about  a.  d.  '212,  and  opened  for  public  use  in  the  eai'ly 
spring  of  216.  Part  of  the  ground  which  they  cover  probably 
belonged  to  the  gardens  of  Asinius  Pollio,  the  '•  Plorti  Asiniani  " 
of  Frontinns.  As  the  level  of  the  baths  is  higher  than  that  of  the 
gardens,  these,  and  the  buildings  connected  with  them,  were  not 
destroyed,  but  made  use  of  to  support  the  new  platform  in  the 
same  way  as  the  remains  of  the  Golden  House  of  Nero  were  made 


Fig.  207. — Part  of  the  Building  discovered  by  Guidi  under  tlie  Baths  of  Caracalla. 


to  support  the  platform  of  the  baths  of  Trajan.  A  portion  of  the 
Asinian  buildings  was  discov^ered  by  G.  B.  Guidi  in  1860-67,  under 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  baths,  and  described  by  Angelo  Pelle- 
grini, Orti  di  Asinie  Pollione,  in  Bull.  Inst.,  1867,  p.  109.  (See 
Fig.  39,  p.  101.)  The  excavations  can  still  be  seen  by  applying 
at  Via  di  Porta  S.  Sebastiano.  Xo.  29.  Tliey  belong  to  a  noble 
liouse,  the  upper  floor  of  which  was  demolished  by  Caracalla, 
while  the  ground  ajrjartments  were  left  almost  iintouched.  The 
rooms,  opening  on  three  sides  of  a  square  jieristylium,  show  traces 
of  fresco-paintings  ;  their  pavements  are  of  white  and  black  mosaic, 
with  figures  of  sea-n^'mphs,  tritons,  marine  monsters,  etc.     (Fig. 


5o4  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

207.)  The  best  preserved  room  is  the  lararium,  or  domestic 
chapel,  with  figures  of  Arpokras  and  Aiiubis  on  each  side  of  the 
door,  and  of  three  Capitoline  deities  above  the  altar. 

Guidi,  however,  was  not  the  first  explorer  of  this  house :  pre- 
vious excavations  are  recorded  by  Ficoroni  (]\Iem.  Ill)  as  having 
taken  place  towards  the  middle  of  last  century.  The  terra-cotta 
panels  representing  the  three  Capitoline  gods,  the  labors  of  Her- 
cules, a  triumphal  arch,  etc.,  now  in  the  Kircherian  museum,  are 
described  among  the  finds. 

Ancient  writers  give  the  most  enthusiastic  accounts  of  Cara- 
calla's  baths,  which  were  completed  by  Heliogabalus  and  Severus 
Alexander.  Like  those  of  Trajan  and  Diocletian,  they  consist  of 
a  central  building  with  halls  of  great  size,  surrounded  by  a  belt  of 
gardens,  the  whole  space  being  inclosed  by  an  outer  quadrangle 
of  smaller  buildings.  The  central  block  measures  216  metres  by 
112,  the  outer  quadrangle  353  metres  by  335;  the  area  amounts  to 
118,255  square  metres.     (Baths  of  Diocletian,  130,000  sq.  m.) 

The  present  entrance  to  the  baths  is  by  the  hall  next  to  the 
north  peristyle  (Via  Antoniana).  No  descri23tion  can  be  given  in 
detail  of  this  magnificent  suite  of  halls,  nor  can  the  object  of  each 
one  be  specified,  except  as  regards  the  frigidarium,  the  tepidarium, 
and  the  caldarium,  which  occupy  the  central  line ;  and  the  peri- 
styles, which  occupy  the  two  ends. 

The  frigidarium  seems  to  correspond  to  the  "cella  soliaris " 
described  by  the  biographer  of  Caracalla,  ch.  ix.,  the  ceiling  of 
which  was  the  largest  flat  ceiling  in  the  world.  The  biographer 
says  that  the  architects  of  his  own  (Constantine's)  time  could  not 
explain  such  a  miracle  of  engineering,  except  by  supposing  that 
the  whole  roof  was  supported  by  girders  of  metal  dexterously  con- 
cealed in  the  thickness  of  the  masonry.  No  trace  of  these  girders 
of  brass  or  copper  (cancelli  ex  cere  vel  cupro)  was  found  in  the 
^,^:^  excavations  of  the  hall  (1872-73),  although  many 

pieces  of  the  roof  were  still  lying  scattered  on  the 
floor;  but  they  appeai'ed  to  be  pierced  by  iron  bars, 
about  one  metre  long,  with  the  upper  end  bent  like 
a  liasp,  and  a  cross  piece  at  the  lower  end.  Perhaps 
the  girders  were  not  exactly  embedded  in  the  roof, 
but  the  roof  itself  was  hung,  as  it  were,  to  the  gird- 
^  ■>  ers  by  means  of  these  iron  crooks.  The  frigidarium 
is  divided  into  three  sections :  two  dressing-rooms 
at  each  end,  and  a  swimming-basin  in  the  centre;  the  pool,  53 
metres  long  and  24  wide,  was  flooded  by  H30  cubic  metres  of 


rtm"n<3  I    I'^K 


U      h  v-wiv     tJo' 


<»-*ft>i4^j,j«*. 


^V*«)>*iU     f-IMI>~      U.7I-' 


Fig.  208.  —A  Leaf  from  Palladio's  Sketcli-book  (Baths  of  Caracalla). 


536  URBS   SACRA   REG  ION  UM  XIV 

water,  which  had  to  be  renewed  several  times  a  day.  The  empty- 
ing and  refilling  of  the  basin  was  done  in  a  wonderfully  short 
time.  The  floor  is  inclined  towards  a  sluice  communicating  with 
an  emissaiium  which  slopes  down  at  an  angle  of  about  1.5°.  The 
sluice  being  opened,  all  the  water  could  run  off  in  a  few  minutes. 
In  the  reservoir  of  the  baths  were  stored  33,000  cubic  metres  of 
water,  nearly  twenty-two  times  the  quantity  necessary  to  flood  the 
basin. 

The  architectural  decoration  of  this  hall  was  rather  peculiar. 
Besides  the  eight  large  pillars  of  gray  granite,  which  supported 
the  entablature  under  the  flat  roof,  each  of  the  niches  for  statues 
was  flanked  by  two  smaller  columns,  supporting  a  pediment  in  the 
shape  of  a  "  tabernacolino."  The  student  can  better  understand 
this  arrangement  by  referring  to  the  drawings  and  sketches  of  the 
Renaissance  architects,  who  saw  the  building  before  the  devasta- 
tions of  Paul  III.  I  reproduce  here  (Fig.  208)  a  page  from  one 
of  Palladio's  sketch-books,  with  a  rough  outline  of  the  east  wall  of 
the  frigidarium,  which  he  calls  "cortile  senza  loge,"  viz.,  without 
"  loggie  "  or  porticoes.  The  preservation  of  the  baths  must  have 
been  truly  extraordinary  in  those  days,  when  even  precious  vases 
of  porphyry  lay  scattered  on  the  ground.  The  one  designed  by 
Palladio  was  decorated  with  scenic  masks,  and  handles  in  the  shape 
of  coiled  serpents.  "  Queste  vasi  sono  di  porfido,"  he  says,  "e 
stanno  ne  le  terme  di  antonino."  Equally  valuable  are  the  draw- 
ings of  Giovanni  Antonio  Dosio  (Uffizi,  2563)  ;  and  of  Antonio  da 
Sangallo  the  elder  (Siena,  8,  iv.  5,  f.  7',  reproduced  in  Memorie 
romane  per  le  Belle  Ai'ti,  1786,  p.  242,  n.  iv.).  The  frigidarium, 
which  is  only  2.23  metres  narrower  than  the  great  nave  of  S. 
Peter's,  was  used  last  century  for  the  "  giuoco  del  Pallone." 

The  tepidarium  occupies  tlie  centre  of  the  building.  Its  vaulted 
ceiling  was  supported  by  eiglit  granite  columns,  nearly  two  metres 
in  diameter,  of  which  but  one  fragment  is  now  to  be  seen.  It  lies 
on  the  mosaic  floor  of  one  of  the  adjoining  dressing-rooms.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  two  whole  columns  were  left 
standing,  viz.,  the  first  and  the  third  on  the  northeast  side  (Dosio, 
Uffizi,  2563).  The  one  at  the  corner  was  removed  to  Florence  by 
the  grand  duke  Cosimo  in  1564,  set  up  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Triuita, 
and  crowned  with  a  bronze  statue  of  Justice.  The  fate  of  the  other 
is  not  known.  Both  bore  the  label  of  the  Imperial  quarry,  admin- 
istered by  a  freedman  of  the  name  of  Diadumeniis.  (See  Codex 
Vatic,  6039,  p.  242.)  The  weiglit  of  the  ceiling  had  been  consid- 
erably lessened  by  the  architect,  by  making  use  of  pumice-stone, 


THE   BATHS    OF    CAR AC ALL A 


537 


instead  of  bricks  or  chips  of  tufa.  The  tepidariiim  has  three  re- 
cesses on  each  of  the  longer  sides,  two  of  which  contain  a  piscina 
set  deep  in  the  pavement.  These  basins,  incrusted  with  precious 
marbles,  were  divided  from  the  main  liall  by  a  line  of  columns  of 
porphyry,  many  fragments  of  which  were  discovered  by  Guidi  in 
186S.  One  of  their  capitals,  of  ultra-composite  invention,  is  repre- 
sented below  (Fig.  209). 

Ficoroni  mentions  four  bases,  also  of  red  porphyry,  as  belonging 
to  the  same  decorations.  They  measured  4.68  metres  in  circum- 
ference     One  of  them  was  to  be  seen  opposite  the  door  of  SS. 


Fig.  JOO.  —  Capital  of  the  Composite  Order  from  the  Tepidarium  of  Caracalla's  Baths. 


Nereo  ed  Achilleo  ;  the  second  within  the  same  church ;  the  third 
near  the  shop  of  a  certain  de  Marchis  in  the  Vicolo  Scanderbeg. 
The  last  was  purchased  by  Ficoroni  liimself  for  forty  sequins,  cut 
into  slabs  to  serve  for  tables,  and  sold  or  given  to  the  king  of 
Poland.  Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  (Uffizi,  1538)  asserts  that  he  saw 
and  sketched  part  of  the  entablature  of  tlie  tepidarium,  "  a  gustin 
gissi,"  in  the  garden  of  the  wealthy  banker  Agostino  Chigi. 


538  URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 

The  caldarium  was  a  noble  circular  hall  projecting  halfway  into 
the  inner  garden.  Its  dome  rested  on  eight  pilasters  of  great  size, 
each  pierced  by  a  narrow  staircase.  There  are  only  two  left  stand- 
ing :  the  basements  of  the  others  were  excavated  partly  in  Novem- 
ber, 187.8,  partly  in  the  spring  of  the  present  year.  At  the  foot 
of  one  of  the  stairs  several  bricks  were  found,  inscribed  with  the 
motto  -\-  rrr/(nante)  f/(omino)  n(ostro)  Theoderico,  bono  Rom(a,)e, 
the  first  intimation  of  repairs  having  been  made  in  the  baths  by 
that  provident  king. 

The  peristyles  or  palestrae  at  each  end  of  the  tepidarium  con- 
tained a  portico  of  precious  columns,  paved  with  polychrome 
mosaic,  and  opening  on  a  court ;  and  a  hemicycle  or  tribune,  the 
pavement  of  which  was  divided  into  squares  and  parallelograms, 
each  containing  a  full-sized  figure  or  bust  of  an  athlete.  These 
valuable  mosaics,  discovered  by  Count  Velo  in  1824,  were  removed 
to  the  Lateran  Museum  by  Gregory  XVI.  Consult  Pietro  Secchi, 
>'  II  musaico  antoniniano  rappresentante  la  Scuola  degii  Atleti," 
Rome,  1813;  Ilelbig's  "Guide,"  vol.  i.  p.  507,  n.  704;  and  the 
"  Corpus  Inscr.,"  vol.  vi.  n.  10,155. 

A  marble  frieze  in  l)old  relief,  with  festoons  and  hunting  scenes, 
ran  the  whole  length  of  both  peristyles.  Of  this  frieze,  once  over 
a  thousand  feet  long,  one  fragment  alone  remains  (north  side  of 
south  peristyle)  to  tell  the  tale  of  destruction :  the  lime-kilns  have 
absorbed  the  rest.  Another  piece  with  the  figures  of  two  gladiators 
must  be  preserved  in  the  Villa  Albani,  where  it  was  removed  by 
Cardinal  Alessandro  about  1767.  Piranesi  claims  to  have  seen  (in 
the  course  of  the  Albani  excavations  ?)  jiieces  of  the  gates  of  gilt 
bronze,  which  still  clung  to  the  posts  of  the  passages  leading  to 
the  frigidarium. 

To  appreciate  the  number  and  the  value  of  the  works  of  art  with 
which  Caracalla,  Alexander,  Heliogabalus,  Valentinian  and  Valens, 
King  Theoderic,  and  several  prefects  of  the  city  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury lavishly  decorated  these  baths,  we  must  consult  the  accounts 
of  the  excavations  made  at  the  time  of  Paul  III.  (1546),  and  also 
the  catalogues  of  the  Museo  Farnese,  the  contents  of  which  were 
removed  to  the  Museo  Borbonico  (Naples)  in  the  second  half  of 
last  century.  "  The  search  made  in  the  Antoniana  at  the  time  of 
Paul  III.,"  says  Bartoli  (Mem.  78),  "turned  out  so  rich  in  statues, 
columns,  bas-reliefs,  architectural  marbles,  cameos,  intaglios, 
bronzes,  medals,  lamps,  that  a  museum  (the  Farnesiano)  was 
formed  with  them.  The  enormous  quantity  of  heads,  busts,  and 
bas-reliefs,  which  fill  two  large  rooms  in  the  ground  floor  of  the 


THE   BATHS    OF   CAR AC ALL A  539 

palace,  were  also  found  at  tlie  Antoniana."  And  yet  the  excava- 
tions of  Paul  III.  were  preceded  and  have  been  followed  by  many 
others,  the  product  of  which  was  always  considerable.  In  the 
"  Storia  degli  Scavi  di  Roma,"  the  first  volume  of  which  will  be 
published,  I  hope,  early  next  year,  forty  excavations  at  least  are 
recorded  in  the  "  Antignano,"  from  the  time  of  Paschal  I.  (817- 
824)  to  the  present  day.  Among  the  Farnese  finds  Ulisse  Aldo- 
vrandi  mentions  the  group  of  Dirce  tied  to  the  horns  of  the  bull, 
the  colossal  Hercules  of  Glycon,  Atreus  with  the  son  of  Thyestes, 
the  so-called  Vestal  Tuccia,  a  colossal  Pallas,  a  Flora,  a  Diana,  four 
other  figures  of  Herakles,  a  Venus,  an  Hermaphrodite,  some  busts 
of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  many  torsos  and  heads  not  identified,  a 
l)edestal  ("  Corpus,"  n.  749),  and  one  of  the  two  large  granite  basins 
which  now  adorn  the  fountains  of  the  Piazza  Farnese.  The  other, 
seen  by  Ruccellai  in  1450,  "  in  una  vigna  presso  alle  terme,"  was 
first  removed  by  Pius  II.  to  the  Piazza  di  Venezia  and  again  to  its 
pi'esent  location  by  Cardinal  Odoardo  Farnese  in  1612.  Another 
dilettante,  Messer  Mario  Maccarone,  whose  house  still  exists  b}' 
the  Macel  de'  Corvi,  found  pieces  of  an  equestrian  group  and  a 
statue  of  Caracalla,  which  was  destroyed  by  his  own  workmen. 
Flaminio  Vacca  mentions  the  discovery  of  a  large  block  of  marble 
representing  an  island  on  the  surface  of  which  were  left  the  foot- 
prints of  several  human  figures  (moiti  pie  di  fgure  attaccate  nelV 
isfessa  isola)  ;  a  ship  laden  with  passengers  appeared  to  be  steering 
for  the  island.  This  curious  piece  was  pi'obably  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  swimming-pond.  Towards  the  end  of  last  century 
two  precious  basins  wei-e  discovered  in  the  direction  of  S.  Cesario, 
one  of  green,  one  of  reddish  basalt ;  both  had  been  used  for  coffins 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  They  are  now  placed  in  the  Cortile  de  Bel- 
vedere. The  three  cathedrae  or  armchairs,  also,  of  red  marble, 
formerly  in  the  cloisters  of  Vassallectus  at  the  Lateran,  are  said  to 
have  been  discovered  in  these  baths.  The  last  excavations  of  the 
]iresent  century  were  made  by  Count  Velo  in  1824,  by  Guidi  in 
1868,  by  Rosa  in  1872,  and  by  Fiorelli  in  1879.  These  last  led  to 
tlie  discovery  of  one  of  the  furnaces  or  hj'jjocausts,  still  filled  witli 
charcoal,  and  also  of  brick-stamps,  with  the  legend  opvs  •  do- 
LiARE  •  EX  •  PRvEDis  •  AVG  □  N  '  FIG  •  TERTi,  remarkable  for 
its  allusion  to  the  murder  of  Geta.  brother  of  Caracalla  (see  p.  41). 
The  service  of  this  mighty  establishment,  which  could  accommo- 
date 1600  bathers  at  one  time,  was  carried  out  underground  by 
means  of  cry]:)toporticoes,  lighted  from  glass-covered  skylights. 
These  subterranean  corridors,  many  thousand  feet  long,  are  not 


540  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

accessible  at  present,  except  for  a  small  section  under  the  Vigna 
Bernabd.  Those  within  the  government  grounds  were  filled  with 
rubbish  at  the  time  of  Piranesi. 

A  branch  aqueduct  of  the  Marcia  (Marcia  Antoniniana,  Marcia 
lovia  after  the  restoration  by  Diocletian)  supplied  the  reservoir  of 
the  baths.  The  aqueduct  crossed  the  Appian  Way  over  the  so- 
called  Arch  of  Drusus.  Its  arcades  in  the  Vigna  Casali  were 
destroyed  during  last  century. 

Literature.  —  Coj79M«  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  ii.  749,  1088,  1170-73,  92-32,  10,155.— 
A.  da  Sangallo  the  elder,  Cod.  Barberin.,  f.  66',  67.  — A.  da  Sangallo  tlie 
younger,  Uffizi,  n.  1093,  1133, 1206,  1381, 1411,  1656  (?).  — Aristotile  da  Sangallo, 
n.  1554,  15.55.  —  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  n.  476.  —  Fra  Giocondo,  n.  1538.  —  Al- 
l)erti  Cherubino,  Cod.  Bori/o  S.  Sepolcro,  vol.  i.  pp.  3',  4,  5.  Codex  Berolin., 
f.  43.  —  Heemskerk,  Berlin,  i.  f.  -59,  59';  and  ii.  f.  7.  —  Seventeen  large  draw- 
ings (by  Simon  Travail?)  of  much  importance  are  preserved  in  the  Kunstge- 
werbe  Museum  in  the  same  city  (large  portfolio,  A,  p.  377,  f.  20-46). —  Etienne 
du  Perac,  Vedute,  pis.  19-22.  —  Gio.  Battistfe  Piranesi,  Antichila,  vol.  i.  p.  23, 
n.  199.  —  Abel  Blouet,  Restaur,  des  thermes  de  Caracalla.  Paris,  1823.  — 
Luigi  Canina,  Edifizl,  vol.  iv.  pis.  207-214.  —  Pietro  Rosa,  Relazione,  pp.  83,  85. 

—  Notlzie  deyli  Scavi,  1878,  p.  346;  1879,  pp.  15,  40,  114,  141,  314;  1881,  p.  57. 

—  Rodolfo  Laneiani,  Bid!.  Inst.,  1869,  p.  236;  and  Ancient  Rome,  pp.  90-94. 

LXXIII.  The  churches  of  the  Aventine  —  S.  Balbina,  S.  Saba, 
S.  Sabina,  S.  Prisca  —  vie  in  archaeological  interest  with  the  re- 
mains of  classic  monuments.  S.  Balbina  occupies  the  site  of  the 
Domus  Cilonis ;  S.  Saba  that  of  the  Statio  Cohortis  TV.  Vigi- 
lum ;  S.  Sabina  stands  close  to  the  Templum  lunonis  Reginfe ; 
while  S.  Prisca  represents  the  Domus  Aquilae  et  Priscpe  of  the 
Acts,  between  the  Domus  Licinii  Siirse  and  the  Domus  Gai  Marii 
Pudentis  Corneliani. 

The  Domus  Cilonis  is  mentioned  in  the  Imperial  almanacs  of 
the  fourth  century  as  one  of  the  prominent  buildings  of  the  twelfth 
region.  It  was  reconstructed  at  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus,  and 
presented  by  that  Emperor  to  Lucius  Fabius  Cilo,  consiil  a.  d.  204, 
prefect  of  the  city,  and  an  intimate  friend.  The  remains  consist 
of  some  walls  of  reticulated  work,  which  serve  as  foundations  to 
the  monastery  (now  a  house  of  refuge  for  women),  and  of  a  hall,  23 
metres  long,  and  16.44  wide,  which  forms  the  shell  of  the  church  of 
S.  Balbina.  The  Servian  w'alls  run  across  the  building  and  can  be 
examined  in  the  refectory  as  well  as  in  the  garden  on  the  east  side. 
S.  Balbina,  a  xxnique  specimen  of  a  mediaeval  fortified  monastery, 
was  modernized  and  whitewashed  in  1884.  The  Domus  Cilonis 
was  excavated  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteentli  century.  Tmo 
pedestals  of  statues  dedicated  to  him  by  the  cities  of  Ancyra  and 


CHURCHES    OF   THE   AVENTINE  541 

Mediolanum  were  removed  to  the  Museo  Cesi ;  two  perished  in  the 
"  Calcarara "  at  le  Botteghe  oscure.  Other  excavations  were 
opened  by  Pius  IX.  (December,  1858,  to  November,  1859),  an 
account  of  which  is  given  by  Carlo  Ludovico  Visconti  in  the  "Bull. 
Inst.,"  1859.  They  led  to  the  discovery  of  nine  marble  heads  and 
busts,  two  of  which,  alleged  to  represent  Cains  and  Lucius,  nephews 
of  Augustus,  are  exhibited  in  Compartment  XVII.  of  the  Museo 
Chiaramonti,  n.  117,  119 ;  and  of  a  water-pipe  inscribed  with  the 
name  of  the  owner  (Zmcu/)abi  chilonis  PRAEF(eca)  vrb(0- 

Literature.  —  Cor/JMi!  Inscr.  Lat.,  vol.  vi.  1408-1410. —  Coijms  Inscr. 
fri'tec,  n.  5896.  —  C.  Ludovico  Visconti,  Bull.  Jnst.,  1859,  p.  164.  —  Huiuricli 
Jordan,  Forma,  p.  4.3.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Nutizie  Scavi,  1884,  p.  2'2-3. 

Nothing  is  left  above  ground  of  the  statio  of  the  fourth  bat- 
talion of  the  vigiles  at  S.  Saba ;  but  many  of  the  marbles  used  in 
the  decoration  of  the  church  must  pertain  to  it.  A  visit  to  this 
delightful  spot  and  to  the  secluded  mediasval  cloisters,  shaded  by 
orange  groves,  cannot  fail  to  please  the  student.  The  loggia  above 
the  vestibule  of  the  church  affords  a  good  point  of  survey  over  the 
southwestern  quarters  of  ancient  Rome. 

Literature.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Rossi,  Annal.  Inst.,  1858,  p.  285.  —  Mariano 
Annellini,  Chiese,  2d  edit.  p.  589. 

The  church  of  S.  Sabina,  built  in  4'25  by  Peter,  an  Ill\Tian  priest, 
with  the  spoils  of  some  neighboring  classic  edifice,  stands  very  near 
the  site  of  tJie  Templum  lunonis  Regina^,  erected  by  Camillus 
after  the  capture  of  Veil.  Livy  (xxvii.  37)  places  it  at  the  top  of 
the  Cli\ais  Publicius,  a  steep  lane  still  in  existence,  wliich  leads 
from  the  church  of  S.  Anna  (Via  della  Salara)  to  the  Via  di  S.  Sa- 
bina (Vicus  Armilustri  ?).  Further  south  stood  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Libertas,  erected  by  Gracchus  and  restored  by  Augustus. 
Asinius  Pollio  added  to  it  an  atrium  in  w^hich  a  library,  formerly 
belonging  to  Varro,  was  placed  for  public  use  in  36  b.  c.  On  these 
sites  a  fortress  was  raised  by  the  Savelli  at  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  part  of  which  was  made  over  to  the  newly 
established  Dominican  brotherhood  by  Honorius  ITT.  (1216-27). 
The  fortress  is  still  in  good  condition,  and  can  be  visited  by  apply- 
ing to  the  gardener  (Via  di  S.  Sabina),  first  gate  on  the  right. 

The  remains  of  the  ]"ialace  of  T^icinius  Sura,  a  friend  of  Trajan, 
occupy  the  tableland  of  tlie  Vigna  Cavalletti  by  S.  Prisca.  There 
is  a  magnificent  view  from  the  terrace  of  the  so-called  "  Castello  di 
Costantino,"  a  hostelry  dear  to  the  archfeological  brotlierhood, 
which  occupies  the  centre  of  the  old  palace.     Other  walls  appear 


542  URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 

under  and  close  to  the  apse  of  tlie  chm-ch  jast  named.  The  place 
is  closely  connected  with  the  first  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  Rome. 
(See  Pagan  and  Christian  Home,  p.  110.) 

LXXIV.  The  Therms  Decian.e. — Trajan  built  for  public 
use  baths  of  great  magnificence,  which  he  named  Balneae  Surse 
or  Thermte  Suranse,  from  the.  friend  to  whose  residence  they  were 
contiguous.  No  trace  is  left  of  them  above  ground.  Considerable 
remains,  on  the  contrary,  exist  of  another  bathing-establishment 
of  the  Aventine,  named  Thernipe  Decian*,  fi-om  the  family  of 
the  Ca3cina?  Decii  Albini,  who  also  resided  on  this  aristocratic  hill. 
The  fariuhouse  and  the  casino  of  the  Vigna  Torlonia  (foi-merly 
Massimi,  Maccarani,  and  of  the  Casa  professa  dei  Gesuiti)  are 
built  over  and  within  some  of  the  halls.  The  place  is  entered 
from  the  gate  opposite  the  church  of  S.  Prisca,  and  the  gardener 
generally  allows  students  to  visit  the  painted  rooms  in  the  cellars 
of  his  hoiise. 

The  Thermae  Decian?e,  the  plan  of  which  I  have  lately  discovered 
in  one  of  Palladio's  portfolios,  and  now  publish  for  the  first  time 
(Fig.  210),  have  proved  to  their  first  explorers  a  mine  of  works  of 
ai't.  Bartoli  mentions  "  nobilissime  stufe  e  bagni  "  and  "  stanzoni 
immensi"  adorned  with  paintings  and  stucco-reliefs  of  delicate 
workmanship.  Their  pavements  lay  very  deep  under  the  present 
level  of  the  ground.  The  statue  of  the  "  Infant  Hercules  "  in 
green  basalt,  now  in  the  "  salone  "  of  the  Capitoline  Museum,  and 
the  bas-relief  of  Kndyiuion  in  the  "sala  degli  imperatori  "  were  dis- 
covered among  the  ruins,  as  well  as  many  inscriptions,  marked  in 
the  "Corpus  Inscr."  with  n.  11.59-60,  1165,  1167,  1192,  16.51,  1671, 
1672,  a,  h,  and  1703.  We  gather  from  them  that  the  Emperors 
Constantius  and  Constans  "  thermas  vetustate  labefactatas  restau- 
raverunt ;  "  that  statues  were  erected  to  them  in  memory  of  the 
event  by  Vitrasius  Orfitus,  prefect  of  the  city  in  353,  and  by  his 
successor  Flavins  Leontius ;  that  the  baths  were  profusely  decorated 
with  Creek  works  of  sculpture  removed  from  the  semi-abandoned 
temples  by  Anicins  Paulinus,  Tanaucius  Isfalangius,  Pomponius 
Ammonius,  and  Fabius  Titianus,  all  city  magistrates  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century;  and  lastly,  that  in  414,  Ilonorius 
and  Theodosius  being  Emperors,  an  illustrious  descendant  of  the 
founders  of  the  baths,  Ca^cina  Decius  Acinatius  Albinus,  restored 
tlie  "  cella,  te])i<laria,"  the  fall  of  which  would  have  caused  the  ruin 
of  the  wliole  l)uilding. 

The  batlis  have  been  excavated  thrice  within  my  recollection; 


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544  UEBS   SACRA  REGIONUM   XIV 

by  General  Lamoriciere  in  1867,  when  the  plateau  of  the  Aventine 
was  turned  into  an  intrenched  camp ;  by  Parker  in  1869  ;  and  by 
Prince  Torlonia  in  April,  1877.  In  all  these  excavations,  brick- 
stamps  of  the  time  of  Trajan  were  found  in  vast  numbers.  The 
question  rises,  therefore,  whether  the  Thermse  Suranse  built  by 
that  Emperor  were  not  connected  toiaographically  with  the  De- 
cianse,  as  in  the  case  of  those  of  Nero  and  Severus  Alexander. 

LiTERATURK. — Heiiirich  Jordan,  Forma,  n.  41,  p.  59;  and  Topographie, 
vol.  ii.  p.  104.  —  Pietro  Bartoli,  Memorie,  n.  125,  127,  129  (in  Fea's  MiscelL, 
vol.  i.).  Angelo  Pellegrini,  Le  terme  Suriane  e  Deciane  (in  Bull.  Inst.,  1868, 
p.  177). —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  Inst.,  1870,  p.  74;  and  Bull,  com.,  1877, 
p.  266. 


THE  GREAT  PARKS  ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF  THE  CITY. 
(Regio  XIV  —  Transtiberim.) 
(Compare  Map,  Fig.  150,  p.  394.) 

LXXV.  The  transtiberine  quarter,  of  which  Augustus  made  the 
fourteenth  ward  of  the  city,  covered  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Jani- 
culum,  and  the  plain  between  it  and  the  Tiber.  The  plain,  with 
its  labyrinth  of  tortuous  and  narrow  lanes,  was  the  abode  of  rowdy 
crowds  of  bargemen,  lightermen,  fishermen,  porters,  tanners,  Jews, 
etc.  The  Janiculum,  on  the  contrary,  one  of  the  "  seven  wonders  " 
of  the  capital,  was  occupied  by  a  great  public  park  extending  from 
the  first  milestone  of  the  Via  Portuensis  (Pozzo  Pantaleo),  north- 
wards as  far  as  the  Vatican  ridge.  The  park  was  composed  of 
four  sections :  the  Horti  C^saris,  between  the  Portuensis  and 
the  Aurelia  Vetus ;  the  Horti  Get/E,  between  the  Aurelia  Vetus 
and  the  Aurelia  Nova ;  the  Horti  Agrippin^,  between  the  Aurelia 
Nova  and  the  Triumphalis ;  and  lastly,  the  Horti  Domiti^, 
between  the  Triumphalis  and  the  Tiber. 

Before  giving  an  account  of  these  delightful  gai'dens  and  of 
the  monuments  for  which  they  were  famous,  I  must  describe  the 
only  place  of  archaeological  interest  which  the  student  can  see 
in  the  Trastevere,  the  guard-house  or  outposts  of  the  seventh 
battalion  of  the  City  Police,  at  the  Monte  de'  Fiori. 

The  EscuBiTORiuM  Con  •  VII  •  Vigilum  was  discovered  by 
Visconti  in  1866  at  the  Monte  de'  Fiori,  nearly  opposite  the 
church  of  S.  Crisogono.  The  remains  seem  to  belong  to  a  large 
private  house,  bought  or  leased  by  the  Administration  as  a  police 
station  for  the  fourteenth  region.     Such  stations,  called  escuhitoria, 


I 


THE   ESCUBITORIUM   OF  MONTE   DE'    FIORI         545 

were  distributed  all  over  the  city,  one  for  each  region, as  "depend- 
ences "  of  the  central  barracks  or  stationes,  of  which  there  were 
only  seven.  The  headquarters,  the  Scotland  Yard  of  ancient 
Rome,  were  with  the  static  of  the  first  battalion,  under  the  church 
of  S.  Marcello  and  the  Palazzo  Muti-Balestra. 

The  escubitorium  of  Monte  de'  Fiori  was  garrisoned  by  the 
men  of  the  seventh  cohort,  to  which  the  care  of  the  ninth  and 
fourteenth  wards  of  the  city  was  intrusted.  The  main  barracks 
have  been  located  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  transtiberine  church 
of  S.  Salvatore  in  Corte  (in  cohoi-te),  on  no  sufficient  evidence, 
however,  as  the  name  curds  (court-yard)  has  been  connected  with 
other  churches  in  mediaeval  Rome.  The  other  escubitorium  of 
the  same  cohort  was  at  the  Therm*  Xeronianaj  in  the  ninth 
region. 

The  ruins  at  the  Monte  de'  Fiori  are  made  attractive  by  the  ex- 
cellent preservation  of  some  of  the  apartments  and  by  the  graffiti 
with  which  the  walls  are  covered.  These  last  number  about 
one  hundred,  and  have  been  published  and  illustrated  by  Ilenzen. 
They  begin  as  a  rule  with  a  date  ;  then  follow  the  number  and 
name  of  the  cohort,  the  name  of  the  captain  of  the  company 
to  which  the  writer  of  the  graffito  belonged,  the  name  of  the 
writer,  his  special  rank  in  the  company,  —  if  he  had  one,  —  and 
lastly,  the  reason  which  ])rompted  him  to  scratch  his  sentences  on 
the  wall. 

The  dates  begin  with  a.  d.  215,  and  end  with  245,  a  lapse  of 
thirty  years.  The  Emperors  named  are  Severus,  Caracalla, 
Macrinus,  Severus  Alexander  (Mamma^a,  his  mothei'),  and  Gordi- 
anus  TTI.  In  token  of  loyalty  towards  their  sovereigns,  the  men 
call  their  cohorts  Severiana,  Antoniniana,  Mamiana,  Alexandriana, 
and  Gordiana.  Twenty-five  names  of  captains  are  recorded. 
The  writers  are  mostly  common  soldiers  :  a  few  sub-officers  call 
themselves  adiutores  centurionis,  adjutants  of  the  captains ;  quces- 
tionarii,  examiners  of  prisoners  ;  carcerarii,  warders  of  the  prison  ; 
aquarii,  plumbers  and  keepers  of  fire-engines  (siphones  ?)  ;  balnearii, 
keepers  of  the  baths  attached  to  the  barracks  ;  horrearii,  attached 
to  the  commissariat,  and  so  forth. 

The  reasons  given  for  the  writing  of  the  graffiti  are  mainly  two  : 
the  first  is  to  express  feelings  of  loyalty,  and  wishes  of  welfare  and 
long  life  for  the  reigning  Emperor  (vota  decennalia,  vicennalia, 
etc.) ;  the  second  is  to  thank  the  gods,  the  Genius  of  the  Escubi- 
torium, and  the  fellow  soldiers,  and  to  congratulate  one's  self 
on  having  finished  the  sebaciaria.     What  were  these  sebaciaria? 


546  URBS   SACRA   REGIONUM  XIV 

I  shall  not  tire  the  reader  by  summing  up  all  the  conjectures 
advanced  on  this  subject ;  three  points  are  certain  :  first,  that  the 
men  intrusted  with  the  sebaciaria  were  on  duty  for  one  whole 
month  :  "  sevaciaria  fecit  ex  Kalendas  lulias  in  Ka(lendas)  Augu- 
(stas) ; "  secondly,  that  the  sebaciaria  were  not  exempt  from 
a  certain  amount  of  danger,  so  much  so  that  the  men  accompany 
very  often  their  statement  with  tlie  congratulatory  "  omnia  tuta !  " 
"  everything  safe  !  "  thirdly,  that  the  sebaciaria  were  a  heavy  and 
tiresome  work  :  "  Lassus  sum  :  successorem  date  !  "  "  I  am  tired  : 
let  some  one  else  take  my  place ! "  Professor  Henzen  thinks 
that  the  mysterious  words  "  sebaciaria  f acere  "  mean  to  take  care 
of  the  torches,  lamps,  and  candles  made  of  tallow  (sebum)  used 
by  the  policemen  to  light  their  barracks  and  to  carry  about  in 
their  night  rounds.     The  explanation  is  not  satisfactory. 

The  part  of  the  Escubitorium  now  accessible  contains  a  court 
paved  with  mosaics  in  chiaroscuro,  with  a  fountain  in  the  centre ; 
and  a  chapel  or  lararium,  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens  of 
ornamental  brickwork  of  the  time  of  Severus  and  Caracalla.  (See 
Ancient  Rome,  p.  231.)  Some  of  the  walls  reach  the  height  of 
the  second  floor  of  the  modern  houses  of  the  Monte  de'  Fiori. 

LiTERATUKK.  —  Wilhehii  Henzen,  Bull.  Inst.,  1867,  p.  12;  and  Anna  I  i  Inst., 
1874,  p.  111.  —  Pietro  Ereole  Visconti,  La  coorte  settima  dei  Vir/ili.  Rome, 
1868.  — Corpus  Inscr.  Latin.,  vol.  vi.  n.  2998-3091.— Carlo  Nocella,  Sebacia- 
ria Emitulurius.  Rome,  Forzani,  1887.  —  Alessandro  Capannari,  Bull,  com., 
1886,  p.  253.  —  Compare  Bull,  com.,  1887,  pp.  31,  77. 

LXXVI.  HoRTi  C^SARis,  laid  out  by  the  Dictator,  and  be- 
queathed to  the  people  by  a  codicil  in  his  will  (jiovissimo  testamento). 
They  occupied  the  sites  of  the  present  Villa  Sciarra,  vigne  Mattel, 
della  Missione,  and  di  S.  Michele,  reaching  south  to  the  tufa 
quarries  of  Pozzo  Pantaleo,  and  the  beautiful  uplands  of  the 
Monte verde.  The  view  from  these  uplands  over  the  harbor,  the 
city,  the  campagna,  the  hills,  the  Apennines  was,  and  is  now, 
celebrated :  — 

"  Hinc  septem  dominos  videre  montes 
et  totam  licet  «stimare  Romam." 

The  slope  of  the  hill  was  cvit  into  terraces  supported  by  porticoes 
and  colonnades,  with  shady  glens  and  waterfalls  to  break  the 
symmetry  of  the  architectural  masses.  The  low  land  at  the  foot 
of  the  slope  was  not  all  included  in  the  park,  a  strip  along  the 
Via  Portuensis  being  occupied  by  temples  (of  the  Fors  Fortuna,  of 
the  Sun),  by  tombs,  by  gi-anaries  and  warehouses,  and  by  iirivate 


THE    GARDENS    OF   CESAR  547 

gardens.  One  of  these  last  is  described  in  a  document  of  the 
sixth  century  (a.  d.  577-78)  as  the  "  Ilorti  Traiistiberini  Eugenii 
notarii,  foras  niuros  iuxta  portani  Portuensem  qui  fuerunt  ex  iure 
quondam  Micini  cancellarii  inlustris  urbanai  sedis  patris  eius " 
(Corpus  Inscr.,  vol.  vi.  n.  8401).  Although  no  remains  of  the 
Horti  Csesaris  appear  above  ground,  works  of  art  are  occasionally 
discovered  within  their  boundary  line  even  after  four  centuries  of 
plunder. 

The  first  excavations  of  which  we  have  a  written  account  took 
place  about  1550  in  the  Vigna  Vittori,  opposite  the  Marmorata. 
Several  statues,  busts,  and  heads  of  poets,  philosophers,  and 
Emperors  were  found  concealed  in  two  rooms.  Some  were  bought 
by  Cardinal  Alessandro  Earnese,  others  were  placed  in  the  Museo 
Vittori.  About  the  same  time  tlie  celebrated  group  of  Menelaos 
and  Patroklos,  known  as  "  il  Pas(iuino,"  came  to  light  from  the 
Vigna  of  Antonio  Velli,  half  a  mile  outside  the  Porta  Portese. 
Duke  Cosimo,  who  liappened  to  be  in  Rome  at  the  time,  bought 
it  for  500  scudi,  and  placed  it  in  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi.^ 

In  1822  the  following  works  of  art  were  dug  up  in  the  Vigna 
della  Missione :  an  exquisite  polychrome  mosaic  pavement  with 
masks,  fish,  fruit,  and  flowers  (it  was  cut  into  squares  and  sold 
partly  to  Earl  Russell,  partly  to  Lord  Kinnaird)  ;  a  statue  of 
Diana ;  another  of  Neptune,  which  stood  in  the  niche  of  a  foun- 
tain ;  a  Cupid  ;  and  the  figure  of  a  stag  in  nero  antico,  larger  than 
life-size.  Some  of  these  marbles  are  exhibited  at  present  in  the 
Lateran  Museum.  The  search  was  resumed  in  the  year  1825,  the 
only  work  of  art  I'ecovered  being  the  statue  of  ^-Esoulapius  kept 
until  late  years  in  the  "  Casa  dei  Signori  della  Missione "  at  the 
Monte  Citorio. 

Giovanni  Battista  Guidi  excavated  in  1860  the  palmyrene  temple 
of  Helios,  discovering  among  its  ruins  the  Venus  now  in  the  Her- 
mitage at  St.  Petersburg.  Schnetz,  then  president  of  the  French 
Academy  in  Rome,  and  Visconti,  then  director  of  the  excavations, 
proclaimed  the  statue  superior  to  the  Venus  of  tlie  Medici ;  but 
theii"  judgment,  expressed  under  the  excitement  of  the  find,  has 
not  been  sanctioned  by  experts. 

In  the  following  year  a  precious  vase  of  porphyry,  with  handles 
in  the  shape  of  snakes,  was  discovered  in  building  the  Civitavecchia 

1  Flaminio  Vacca,  Mem.  96,  97  (in  Fea's  Miscell.,  vol.  i.  p,  xciv.). — 
FranceKCO  Cancellieri,  Notizie  sulle  statue  di  .  .  .  Pasr/uino.  Rome,  1779. — 
Winckelmann,  Sfnrin  rielle  Arti,  vol.  i.  p.  xxvi.  —  Urlichs,  Ueber  die  Gruppe 
des  Pasquino.     Bonn,  1867. 


548  UEBS   SACEA   EEGIONUM   XIV 

railway  station,  outside  the  Porta  Portese.  Baron  Pontalba,  one 
of  the  railway  officials,  made  a  present  of  it  to  Seiior  Solar.  It  is 
now  in  Spain.  The  Archaeological  Commission  again  searched 
the  slope  of  the  Vigna  della  JNIissione  in  1884,  and  found  a  bust  of 
Anakreon,  inscribed  with  his  name  (ANAKPEnN  ATPIK02),  which  is 
now  on  exhibition  in  the  Palazzo  dei  Conserv^atori. 

Students  can  get  access  to  the  upper  plateau  of  the  Horti 
Ca\saris  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  feast  celebrated  in  the  cata- 
combs of  Pontianus  in  the  Vigna  della  Missione. 

LiTEKATUKE. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  Yo\.  vi.  n.  642,  817,  8401.  —  C.  Ludovico 
Viscoiiti,  ^-l«?ja/.  Inst.,  1860,  pp.  415-450,  pi.  R.  —  Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.com., 
1884,  p.  25;  and  Notizie  Scavi,  1866,  p.  52.  —  Luigi  Borsari,  Bull,  com.,  1887 
p.  'JO.  —  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  443,  n.  599;  p.  479,  n.  646. 

LXXVII.  Horti  Get^e,  laid  out  by  Septimius  Severus  under 
the  name  of  his  youngest  son,  on  the  plateau  and  on  the  slope 
of  the  Janiculum,  in  the  space  now  occupied  by  the  Villa  Corsini, 
the  convent  of  S.  Onofrio,  and  the  Villa  Lante.  There  are  remains 
of  a  reservoir  on  the  left  of  the  gate  of  the  modern  park,  under 
the  wall  of  the  Villa  Heyland.  A  bronze  statue  of  Septimius 
Severus  was  found  here  by  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  while  biailding  the 
new  walls  of  the  city.  Three  halls  with  beautiful  marble  pave- 
ments were  discovered  by  Prince  Corsini  in  January,  1857  ;  columns 
of  cipollino,  Corinthian  capitals,  and  part  of  a  sitting  female  statue, 
by  the  Commissioners  of  the  Hospital  of  S.  Spirito  in  1883. 

Literature.  — Pietro  Bartoli,  Mem.  117  (in  Fea's  Miscell.,  vol.  i.). — 
Maffei,  Eaccolta  di  statue,  pi.  92. 

LXXVIII.  The  Horti  ACtRippin.e.  —  The  early  history  and 
topography  of  the  Vatican  district  have  been  beautifully  illustrated 
by  Prof.  Anton  Elter,  in  the  "  Rheinisch.  Museum  "  of  1891,  p.  112. 
There  were  four  roads  departing  from  the  transtiberine  end  of  the 
Pons  Neronianus  or  Vaticanus  by  S.  Spirito :  the  Aurelia  Nova 
on  the  extreme  left,  the  Cornelia  and  the  Triumphalis  in  the  mid- 
dle, and  the  Via  di  Porta  Castello  (classic  name  unknown)  on  the 
right.  (See  plan,  Fig.  150,  p.  394.)  The  space  between  the  first 
two  roads  was  occupied  by  the  gardens  laid  out  by  Agrippina  the 
elder,  mother  of  Caligula,  which  became  in  due  course  of  time 
crown  property,  and  a  favorite  resort  with  young  profligate  Em- 
perors, like  Caligula  himself,  Nero,  and  Heliogabalus.  The  gar- 
dens contained  a  portico  on  the  river-side,  and  a  circus,  named 
"Gaianum  "  from  its  founder  (Gains  Csesar,  Caligula),  the  north  side 
of  which  was  made  use  of  by  Constantine  as  a  foundation  to  the 


THE    GARDENS    OF   AGRIPPINA  549 

south  half  of  S.  Peter's  basilica.  (Compare  plan  and  description 
in  "Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  128.)  The  obeli.sk  which 
once  marked  the  middle  line  of  the  Circus  and  now  stands  in  front 
of  the  basilica  is  the  only  relic  left  of  the  Horti  Agrippinse.  It  is 
a  monolith  of  red  granite,  without  hieroglyphs,  brought  over  firom 
Heliopolis,  the  only  one  which  was  not  thrown  down  after  the 
fall  of  the  P^mpire.  Its  close  proximity  to  the  tomb  of  the  Apos- 
tle, and  to  the  mausoleum  of  the  Christian  Emperors  of  the  foiu-th 
century  (Mosileos,  S.  Petronilla),  saved  it  from  sharing  the  fate 
of  the  others.  It  measiu'es  2.5.36  metres  in  height,  without  the 
pedestal,  made  of  four  blocks  of  the  same  granite.  The  name 
oyulia  {gurjlia,  aif/uille,  needle)  is  given  to  it  for  the  first  time  in  a 
bull  of  Leo  IX.,  A.  D.  1053,  in  which  the  pope  calls  it  also  the  toml) 
of  Julius  Cfesar.  The  belief  that  the  l)ronze  globe  on  the  jiinnacle 
contained  the  ashes  of  the  Dictator  was  widespread  in  the  Middle 
Ages;  in  fact,  a  whole  cycle  of  legends  was  formed  about  the 
obelisk  in  the  early  dawn  of  the  Renaissance.  Giovanni  Dondi 
dell'  Orologio  (f  1389)  asserts  having  'seen  engraved  in  the  middle 
of  the  monolith  the  distich  — 

"ingenio,  Bvizeta,  tuo  bis  quiuque  puella- 
appositis  manibus,  banc  erexere  columnam." 

Another  even  more  absurd  inscription  is  given  by  Giambullari 
ap.  Mercati,  "  Obelischi,"  p.  139.  A  third  appears  in  the  early 
epigraphic  manuals  of  Metello,  Lilius  the  gouty,  Ferrarino,  etc.  — 

"orbe  sub  hoc  parvo  conditur  orbis  Hems, 
si  lapis  est  umis,  die  qua  fuit  arte  levatus, 
et  si  sunt  plures,  die  ubi  contigui." 

INIercati  thinks  that  the  lower  portion  of  the  obelisk  was  cov- 
ered with  sheets  of  gilt  bronze,  described  by  Petrarch  (?),and  that 
they  were  stolen  during  the  Sacco  del  Borbone.  There  seems  to 
be  no  doubt  that  those  brutal  lansquenets  fired  several  shots  and 
hit  the  globe  in  more  than  one  place.  The  removal,  accomplished 
by  order  of  Sixtus  V.,  by  his  architect  Domenico  Fontana,  is  an 
event  too  well  known  to  be  described  in  these  pages.  The  official 
minutes  of  the  religious  ceremony  of  September  2(i,  1.586,  which 
preceded  it,  are  to  be  found  in  Grimaldi's  Diary,  p.  212'  of  the  Bar- 
berihian  copy.  Thirty-seven  thousand  scudi  were  spent  on  the 
operation,  nearly  7000  being  for  ropes  alone.  The  timber  for  the 
scaffoldings  erected  to  lower  and  then  raise  it  into  its  new  position 
was  cut  in  the  woods  of  Xettuno  and  Campomorto,  each  beam  being 
drawn  bv  fourteen  buffaloes.     The  metal  ornaments  were  cast  by 


550  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

G.  B.  Laurenziano  and  Francesco  Censori,  the  brass-founders  of 
the  "  Fabbrica."  The  four  lions  were  modeled  by  Prospero  Bres- 
ciano  and  Cecchino  da  Pietra  Santa,  cast  and  gilt  by  Ludovico 
Torrigiani.  Altogether,  5694  pounds  of  bronze  and  10,802  of  iron 
were  made  use  of  in  the  operation.  The  lowei'ing  took  place  on 
May  7,  1586,  the  removal  on  June  13,  the  reerection  on  September 

10,  the  same  day  on  which  the  Duke  of  Luxembourg  and  De  Pisany, 
ambassadors  of  Henry  III.,  made  their  solemn  entry  through  the 
Porta  Angelica.  The  successful  architect  was  serenaded  by  all 
the  trumpeters  of  Rome ;  the  pope  made  him  a  nobleman,  and 
offered  him  the  insignia  of  knighthood,  a  magnificent  work  of  the 
goldsmith  Ottavio  Vanni,  also  a  pension  of  2400  scudi,  and  all 
the  material  used  in  the  transportation.  The  best  description 
of  the  event  is  to  be  found  in  vol.  ii.  p.  128  of  Baron  Hubner's 
"  Sixte-Quint,"  and  the  best  representation  in  a  copper  plate  de- 
signed by  Fontana  and  engraA'ed  by  Natale  Bonifazio  da  Sebenico. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Basilica  of  S.  Peter,  begun  by  Julius 

11.  and  finished  by  Paul  V.,  led  to  the  discovery  of  important 
remains  of  the  Circus,  the  foundations  of  which  were  built  on 
palisades  of  a  hard  kind  of  wood  which  had  become  fossilized. 
Grimaldi  says  that  in  digging  the  foundations  of  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  fa(,"ade  the  masons  discovered  those  of  the  Circus 
at  the  depth  of  6.69  metres,  the  pavement  of  the  Via  Cornelia  at 
11.15,  a  bed  of  loose  ground  at  20.07,  and  lastly  a  bed  of  clay  at 
30.01.  The  southeast  corner,  therefoi-e,  is  sunk  to  the  depth  of 
over  a  hundred  feet.  Grimaldi  also  tells  us  that  the  shell  of  the 
Circus  was  composed  of  six  parallel  walls  of  reticulated  masonry, 
three  on  each  side,  upon  which  the  seats  were  placed,  the  width 
of  the  arena  being  51.29,  while  the  Circus  itself  was  73.59  wide, 
and  323  long. 

The  name  Gaianum  was  transferred  in  the  Middle  Ages  to 
another  circus-like  edifice  of  the  gardens  of  Domitia,  the  remains 
of  which  were  dug  up  in  1743  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  Mauso- 
leum of  Hadrian. 

In  a  deed  of  April  6,  1506,  which  T  have  found  in  the  Capitoline 
Archives  (vol.  xxii.  f.  103),  Matteo  di  Bartolomeo  sells  to  Domenico 
da  Sutri,  a  goldsmith,  a  vineyard  and  a  cane-field  located  "  extra 
portam  Castelli  in  loco  qui  dicitur  Gaiano."  Another  deed,  of 
August  12,  1512  (vol.  dcccxciv.),  mentions  a  vineyard  of  Sisto  de' 
Mellini  "  extra  portam  Castelli  in  loco  dicto  Gaiano." 

The  Via  Cornelia,  bordering  on  the  north  side  of  the  Hoi-ti 
Agrippinas,  was  lined  with  pagan  and  Christian  tombs.     To  the 


THE    GARDENS    OF   AGRIPFIXA  551 

pagan  group  belong  the  sarcophagu.s  of  Claudia  Ileruiione  Arclii- 
mima,  discovered  in  161'2  under  the  atrium  of  S.  Peter's  ;  the 
tombstones  of  ^Elius  Eutacius  and  ^Elia  Valeria,  discovered  in 
1611  under  the  front  steps ;  those  of  Majsia  Titiana  and  Pomponia 
Fadiula,  discovered  in  1615  in  the  foundations  of  the  "  Confes- 
sione ; "  and  many  others  described  in  '•  Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,"  p.  129.  The  early  Christian  tombs  were  clustered  around 
the  grave  of  the  Apostle  ;  those  of  a  later  age  were  scattered  also 
under  the  church  and  its  neighborhood.  The  most  important 
bore  the  exact  indication  of  the  spot  to  which  they  belonged ;  for 
instance,  "  ad  sanctum  Apostolum  Petrum,  ante  regia(m  portam) 
in  porticu,  columua  secunda  quo  modo  intramus,  sinistra  parte 
viroruni."  Parallel  with  the  uortli  side  of  the  Circus,  and  under 
the  clay  cliffs  of  the  Vatican  hill,  was  a  portico,  resting  on  square 
brick  pilasters  painted  with  flowers,  birds,  and  vines  on  a  white 
ground.  These  arcades,  discovered  in  1607,  ran  fron'i  the  Altare 
del  Sacramento  to  the  end  of  the  atrium,  a  distance  of  2o0  feet. 

LiTKKATUKE.  —  Oil  the  Obelisk.  —  Doineiiico  Fontana,  Delia  transportatione 
dell'  obeltsco  vatic.  Rome,  1590. — Micliele  Mercati,  Detjli  ohelischi  di  Roma, 
pp.  239,  365.  —  Gio.  Battista  Cipriani,  Sui  dodicl  obelischi  t'jizi,  Rome,  1823, 
p.  13. — Platiier,  Beschreibun</,  vol.  iil,  p.  1.56. — Francesco  Cancellieri,  De 
Secretarii.t,  vol.  ii.  p.  92G.  —  Hiibner,  Sijte-Quint,  vol.  ii.  ch.  vi.  p.  128. — 
Enrico  Stevei>son,  Dipinti  di  SiMo  I'.,  i>.  9,  n.  2,  pi.  iii. — Andrea  Busiri, 
L'  obeli.'icti  nit.  Rome,  1886.  — Carlo  Fea,  in  Winckehnann's  Storia  ddle  Arti, 
vol.  iii.  p.  291 ;  and  Miscellanta,  vol.  ii.  p.  5.  —  Corpus  /user.,  vol.  vi.  n.  882. 
—  .Sangallo,  Cod.  Barber.,  xlix.  33,  pi.  28;  and  Cod.  Siena,  8,  iv.  5,  pi.  9'. — 
Heeniskerk,  BeroL,  pis.  7,  9,  22.  —  Dosio,  l^ffizi,  2535,  2.536,  2555,2580.— 
Baldassare  Peruzzi,    Uffizi,  631.  — Giaconio  Grimaldi,   Cod.  Barber.,  passim. 

On  the  tombs  of  the  Via  Cornelia.  — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Parjan  and  Christian 
Rome,  Y>.  270.  —  Flaminio  Vacca,  Mem.  61  (in  Fea's  Miscellanea,  vol.  i.). — 
Giaconio  Lombroso,  ^fem.  di  Casslano  dal  Pozzo,  p.  48. —  Corpus  Inscr.,  vol. 
vi.  n.  9797,  9971,  10,048,  10,0-52-10,054,  10,0.56,  10,106,  10,215,  etc. 

On  the  Circus  near  Hadrian's  MausokMim.  —  Procopius,  Goth.,  ii.  1. — 
Kfvillas,  Atti  arrad.  pontif.  arch.,  vol.  .x.  p.  455.  —  Beschreibiiii;/,  vol.  iii,  p. 
17.  —  Luis,n  Canina,  Atti  arrad.  pontif.  arch.,  vol.  x.  p.  433;  and  Edijizi,  vol. 
iv.  pis.  191,  192.  —  Gio.  Battista  de  Kossi,  Piante  di  Roma,  p.  85. 

LXXIX.  The  gardens  of  Domitia  extended  from  the  Via  di 
Porta  Castello  eastward  as  far  as  the  Palazzo  di  Giustizia  and 
the  Ponte  Umberto.^  The  only  monument  left  standing  is  the 
Mausoleum  sen  ^loles  Iladriani  (Iladrianium,  Antonineum,  jNIole 
Adriana,  Castel  S.  Angelo). 

Xerva  was   the    last    Emperor   buried    in    the    mausoleum   of 

1  LiTEEATiiJF.  —  Kndolfo  Lanciani,  Bull.  com..  1S89,  p.  173. 


552  URBS    SACRA   REGIONUM   XIV 

Augustus.  Trajan's  ashes  were  laid  to  rest  in  an  urn  of  gold 
under  his  monumental  column  (?).  Hadrian  determined  to  raise 
a  new  tomb  for  himself  and  his  successors,  and,  like  Augustus, 
selected  a  site  on  the  green  and  shady  banks  of  the  Tiber,  not  on 
the  city  side,  however,  but  in  the  gardens  of  Domitia,  which,  with 
those  of  Agrippina,  foi-med  a  crown  property  called  by  Tacitus 
(Annal.,  xv.  39)  "  Horti  Neronis."  The  mausoleum  and  the  bridge 
which  gave  access  to  it  were  substantially  finished  in  a.  d.  136. 


Fig.  211.  —  Capital  from  the  Basement  of  Hadrian's  Tomb. 

Antoninus  Pius,  after  completing  the  ornamental  part  in  130, 
transferred  to  it  Hadrian's  ashes  from  their  temporary  burial-place 
in  the  former  villa  of  Cicero  at  Puteoli,  and  was  himself  afterwards 
interred  there. 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  i:)oi"phyry  sarcophagus  which 
contained  the  remains  of  Hadrian,  and  was  placed  in  the  recess  of 
the  sepulchral  chamber  opj^osite  the  entrance  door,  is  the  one 
removed  by  Pope  Innocent  II.  to  the  Lateran  in  order  that  it 
might  serve  as  his  own  tomb,  and  destroyed  there  by  fire  in  1360. 
The  cover,  however,  was  saved,  if  we  care  to  believe  the  same 
tradition,  and  made  use  of  for  the  tomb  of  the  Emperor  Otho  II., 


THE   MAUSOLEUM   OF  HADRIAN  553 

in  the  atrium  of  S.  Peter,  until  Pope  Albani  removed  it  to  the  first 
chapel  on  the  left  of  that  church  and  turned  it  into  a  baptismal 
font.  This  story  is  groundless  :  that  porphyry  coffin,  of  colossal 
size,  may  have  been  placed  in  the  mausoleum  by  a  late  Emperor, 
but  cannot  have  contained  the  remains  of  Hadrian,  because  this 
prince  was  cremated  and  not  inhumated. 

Besides  the  passages  of  the  "  Vita  Hadi'iani,"  19 ;  and  of  Dion 
Cassius,  Ixxvi.  15  ;  Ixxviii.  9,  24,  two  descriptions  of  the  monument 
liave  come  down  to  us,  one  by  Procopius,  the  other  by  Leo  I. 
From  these  we  learn  that  it  was  composed  of  a  square  basement 
of  moderate  height,  each  side  of  which  measured  247  feet.  It  was 
faced  with  blocks  of  Parian  marble,  with  pilasters  at  the  corners, 
crowned  by  a  capital  of  which  I  give  a  reproduction  from  the 
original  now  in  the  INIuseo  delle  Terme.     (Fig.  211.) 

Above  the  pilasters  were  groups  of  men  and  horses  in  bronze, 
of  admirable  workmanship.  The  basement  was  protected  around 
by  a  sidewalk  and  a  railing  of  gilt  bronze,  supported  by  marble 
pillars  crowned  with  gilded  peacocks,  two  of  which  are  in  the 
Giardino  della  Pigna,  in  the  Vatican.  A  grand  circular  mole, 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  in  circumference,  and  also  faced  with 
blocks  of  Parian  marble,  stood  on  the  square  basement  and  sup- 
ported in  its  turn  a  cone  of  earth  covered  with  evergreens,  like  the 
mausoleum  of  Augustus.  Of  this  magnificent  decoration  nothing 
now  remains  except  a  few  blocks  of  the  coating  of  marble,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  quadrangle,  near  the  Bastione  di  S.  Giovanni. 
All  that  is  visible  of  the  ancient  work  from  the  outside  are  the 
blocks  of  peperino  of  the  mole  which  once  supported  the  outer 
casing.  The  rest,  both  above  and  below,  is  covered  by  the  works 
of  fortification  constructed  at  various  periods,  from  the  time  of 
Ilonorius  (39:5-403)  to  oiu-  own  days.  In  no  other  monument  of 
ancient  and  mediajval  Rome  is  our  history  written,  moulded,  as  it 
were,  so  vividly,  as  upon  the  battered  remains  of  this  castle-tomb. 
Within  and  around  it  took  place  all  the  faction  fights  for  domin- 
ion with  which  popes.  Emperors,  barons,  barbarians,  Romans 
have  distracted  the  city  for  fifteen  hundred  years.  I  must  refer 
the  reader  on  this  point  of  history  to  Gregorovius.  ''  Geschichte  d. 
Stadt  Rom  ;  "  ^  to  Nibby's  excellent  article  in  vol.  ii.  of  the  "  Roma 
antica,"  p.  488  ;  and  to  Mariano  Borgatti's  "  Castel  Sant'  Angelo," 
1890.  Of  the  internal  arrangement  of  the  monument  nothing- 
was  known  until  182.5,  when  the  principal  door  was  discovered  in 
the  middle  of  the  square  basement  facing  the  bridge.  It  opens 
1  P.  67  of  index  of  Italian  edition,  Venice,  1876. 


554 


URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 


upon  a  corridor  leading  to  a  large  niche,  which,  it  is  conjectured, 
contained  a  statue  of  Hadrian.  The  walls  of  this  vestibule,  by 
which  modern  visitors  generally  begin  tlieir  inspection,  are  built 
of  travertine,  and  bear  evidence  of  having  been  paneled  with 
Numidian  marble.  The  pavement  is  of  white  mosaic.  On  the 
right  side  of  this  vestibule,  near  the  niche,  begins  an  inclined 
spiral  way,  30  feet  high  and  11  wide,  leading  up  to  the  central 
chamber,  which  is  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross. 

The  inscrijitions  of  the  members  of  the  Imperial  family  buried 
in  the  mausoleum,  of  which  we  have  a  copy,  were  set  in  the  front 
of  the  basement  towards  the  bridge,  in  the  following  order  (see 
Huelsen  in  Mittheilungen,  1891,  p.  142)  :  — 

I.  Inscription  of  Hadrian  and  Sabiua  put  up  in  a.  d.  139  above 
the  entrance  door  (Corpus,  n.  984).  II.  Of  Antoninus  Pius,  d.  161 
(n.  986).     III.  Of  Faustina  the  elder,  d.  141  (n.  987).     IV.-VI.  Of 


n     III    IV     v    VI  viiyiii  ix 
J L 


Fig.  212.  —  Diagram  showing  the  Order  in  wliich  the  Imperial  Tombstones  were  placed 
in  the  Mausoleum. 


M.  Aurelius  Fulvus  (n.  988),  of  M.  Galerius  Aurelius  Antoninus 
(n.  989),  and  of  Aurelia  Fadilla  (n.  990),  sons  and  daughter  of 
Antoninus  Pius.  VII.-IX.  Of  T.  Aurelius  Antoninus  (n.  993),  of 
T.  .Elius  Aurelius  (n.  994),  and  of  Domitia  Faustina  (n.  99.5),  sons 
and  daughter  of  M.  Aurelius.  X.  Of  L.  iElius  Cfesar,  d.  138  (n. 
98.5).  XI.  Of  L.  Verus,  d.  169  (n.  991).  And  lastly,  XII.,  of  Corn- 
modus,  d.  192  (n.  992),  placed  above  it.  The  position  of  this  last 
shows  that  the  panels  destined  by  the  designer  for  the  reception  of 
funeral  tablets  were  all  filled  before  the  death  of  Com  modus,  and 
that  a  new  line  of  epitaphs  was  begun  at  a  higher  level.  AVhen 
Bernardo  Gamucci  described  the  Castello  towards  1565,  inscrip- 
tions XI.  and  XII.,  as  well  as  part  of  the  frieze  ornamented  with 
bucranii  and  festoons,  were  still  to  be  seen  in  situ.  Gregory 
XIII.  laid  his  hands  on  these  historic  marbles,  and  cut  them 
in  slabs  for  the  decoration  of  his  "  cappella  Gregoriana "  in  S. 
Peter's.  The  date  of  this  wanton  act  of  destruction  is  July,  1579. 
Giovanni  Alberti,  who  happened  to  be  in  Rome  in  those  days, 
wrote  the  following  memorandum  in  his  sketch-book  (f.  25',  26)  : 


THE   MAUSOLEUM   OF  HADRIAN  555 

"This  frieze  with  wreaths  and  bulls'  heads  (marked  A),  this  archi- 
trave (marked  B),  and  this  basement  (marked  C)  are  being  ex- 
tracted at  the  present  moment  from  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian, 
and  precisely  from  the  front  which  faces  the  river,  where  there  is 
a  great  inscription  above  the  door.  They  were  all  large  pieces 
of  mai'ble,  wrenched  from  their  sockets  by  order  of  our  lord  pope 
Gregory  XIII.  and  worked  anew  for  the  Gregorian  chapel  in  S. 
Peter's.  (I  took  these  drawings)  on  July  20,  1579."  We  know 
from  other  sources  that  the  demolition  had  begun  in  the  month  of 
February  of  the  pi-eceding  year.i 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  tomb  was  adorned  with  statues. 
Procopius  distinctly  says  that,  during  the  siege  laid  by  the  Goths 
to  the  castle  in  537,  many  of  them  were  hurled  down  from  the 
battlements  upon  the  assailants.  On  the  strength  of  this  passage 
topographers  have  been  in  the  habit  of  attributing  to  the  mau- 
soleum all  the  works  of  statuary  discovered  in  the  neighborhood : 
like  the  Barberini  Faun  now  in  Munich,  the  exquisite  statue  of  a 
River  God  described  by  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo,-  etc.,  as  if  such  sub- 
jects were  becoming  a  house  of  death.  The  statues  must  have 
represented  the  ^l*]lian  and  the  Aurelian  princes  and  princesses ; 
and  I  believe  that  the  only  two  marbles  which  may  be  attributed 
to  the  series  are  the  colossal  head  of  Hadrian  now  in  the  Rotunda 
of  the  Vatican,  No.  548,  and  that  of  Antoninus  which  stood  by  it 
before  they  were  removed  from  the  Castel  S.  Angelo.  (See  Helbig, 
Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  211,  n.  298.) 

The  mausoleum  is  crowned  by  the  statue  of  the  angel  sheath- 
ing the  sword.  He  seems  to  protect  it  with  his  outspread  wings. 
The  figure  appears  for  the  first  time  in  a  miniature  of  Nicolo 
Polani  of  1459,  discovered  by  Geffroy  in  MSS.  CC,  12  of  the  Bibli- 
otheque  de  Sainte  Genevieve  in  Paris.^  Next  in  chronological 
order  comes  the  fresco  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  at  S.  Geminiano  (1465), 
published  by  Stevenson,  winch  also  represents  the  angel  in  his 
typical  attitude ;  and  both  as  a  statue,  not  as  an  allusion  to  the 
legend  of  Gregory  the  Great  (a.  d.  590).  The  statue  —  of  gilt 
wood  with  a  framework  of  copper  —  had  been  set  up  on  the  pin- 
nacle of  the  castle  in  January,  1453,  by  order  of  Nicholas  V.  A 
restoration  is  mentioned  in  1475.    Sigismondo  de'  Conti  (Raphael's 

1  See  Laurentius  FrixoHus,  Sacellnm  Grec/oriannm.     Rome,  1581. 

2  Lombroso,  Mem.  di  Cassiano  dal  Pozzo,  p.  49. 

8  References  for  the  angel's  statue.  —  Auguste  Geffro_y,  Melanges 
de  I' E cole  francaise,  vol.  xii.  (Une  rue  inedite  de  Rome  en  1459.)  —  Eugene 
Miintz,  Les  Antigiiites  de  la  viUe  de  Rome,  Paris,  1886,  p.  GO,  ii.  1. 


556 


URBS   SACRA    REGIONUM   XIV 


friend,  from  whom  the  divine  painter  received  the  order  in  1511 
for  the  celebrated  IMadonna  di  Foligno)  says  that  under  Pope 
Borgia  (1497)  the  statue  was  blown  up  by  the  explosion  of  the 
povvdei'-magazine,  "  cuius  frusta  etiam  in  Exquiliis  sunt  inventa !  " 
A  new  one  was  substituted  in  1499,  stolen  in  iry27  by  the  lansque- 
nets of  Charles  V.,  and  a  fourth  in  the  time  of  Paul  III.,  which  is 


THE   MAUSOLEUM   OF   HADRIAN  Obi 

now  set  up  in  a  niche  at  the  hist  .turn  of  the  stairs.  It  is  the  work 
of  Ratt'aello  da  ]\Iontelupo.  The  present  bronze  statue,  modeled 
by  Wenschefehi,  dates  from  the  time  of  Benedict  XIY. 

Among  the  other  duties  to  which  the  mausoleum  has  been  con- 
demned, that  of  sei'ving  as  a  framework  for  the  Girandola  (a 
world-known  display  of  fireworks  on  Easter  Sunday  and  S.  Peter's 
day)  was  certainly  a  picturesque  one.     See  Fig.  213. 

The  mausoleum  of  Hadrian  formed  part  of  one  of  the  largest 
and  noblest  cemeteries  of  ancient  Rome,  crossed  by  the  Via  Tri- 
ninphalis.  (See  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome.  p.  270.)  The  tomb 
next  in  importance  to  it  was  the  so-called  "  Meta,"  or  "  sepiilcrum 


riie  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian  and  the  Meta  in  Raphael's 
Constantine." 


Romuli,"  or  "  sepulcrum  Xeronis,"  a  pyramid  of  great  size,  which 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  chiu'ch  of  S.  Maria  Transpontina,  and  was 
destroyed  by  Alexander  VI.  in  1499.  There  are  many  representa- 
tions of  tlie  p^Tamid  in  works  of  art  of  the  early  Renaissance  con- 
nected with  the  martjn-dom  of  S.  Peter  and  with  his  basilica ;  sucli 
as  Giotto's  fresco  in  the  sacristy,  Antonio  Filarete's  bronze  doors, 
a  panel  of  a  ciborum  in  the  sacre  grotte  Vaticane,  and  a  vignette 
of  the  "Liber  ystoriarum  romanariim,"  recently  juiblished  at  the 


560  URBS   SACRA   REGION UM   XIV 

expense  of  the  city  of  Rome  from  the  original  of  the  thirteenth 
century.^  I  reproduce  on  page  557  the  view  of  these  tombs,  which 
forms  the  background  of  Raphael's  fresco,  the  '•  Vision  of  Constan- 
tine  "  (Fig.  214). 

The  "  Prati  di  Castello,"  the  modern  representatives  of  the 
classic  "  Horti  Neronis,"  have  suffered  more  than  other  districts 
of  the  city  from  its  transformation  since  1870.  The  two  jireced- 
ing  views  represent  the  "  prati  "  as  they  appeared  twenty-five  years 
ago  (Fig.  215)  and  as  they  appear  now  (Fig.  216). 

Literature.  —  Beschreibnng,  vol.  ii',  p.  404.  Luigi  Ca.mn&,  Edifizii,  vol. 
iv.  pis.  284-286.  — Rodolfo  Lanciani,  Bull,  com.,  1888,  p.  129.  —  Christian 
Huelseii,  Mitthtil.,  1890,  p.  137 ;  1893,  p.  321.  —  Luigi  Borsari,  Notkie  Scavi, 
1892,  p.  411. 

1  Ernesto  Monaci,  in  Archiv.  tiucitta  rom.  stwiu patria,  vol.  xii. 


COXCLUSIOX 

THE    GENERAL    ASPECT    OF    THE    CITY 

AVe  have  seen  that  buildings  for  the  habitation  of  citizens  in 
ancient  Rome  were  of  two  kinds,  private  houses  or  palaces  for  the 
residence  of  one  family,  with  a  more  or  less  copious  retinue  of 
servants  (domus),  and  lodging  houses  or  tenement  houses  many 
stories  high,  and  adapted  to  the  reception  of  several  families  and 
of  single  individuals  (insulce).  We  have  seen,  furthermore,  that 
at  the  time  of  its  greatest  development  the  city  numbered  1790 
pahices  and  4(5,002  lodging  houses,  the  population  being  about 
1.000,000  souls.  These  statistics  refer  to  the  city  limits  only, 
marked  approximately  by  the  walls  of  Aurelian ;  but  the  habita- 
tions extended  beyond  the  walls  for  a  radius  of  three  miles  at 
least.  This  suljurban  belt  of  houses  and  lodgings,  with  gardens 
and  orchards  between  them,  was  called  the  belt  of  expatkuitki 
tecta. 

Tenement  houses,  unknown  in  villages,  very  rare  in  provincial 
towns  (like  Pompeii,  Ilerculaneum,  Ostia,  and  Velleia,  consid- 
erable portions  of  which  have  been  excavated),  were  introduced 
in  Rome  in  455  b.  c,  as  related  by  Dionysius  :  "  The  Plebeians 
agreed  to  divide  among  themselves  bona  fide  the  building  lots  on 
the  Aventine,  each  family  selecting  a  space  in  proportion  ^^•^th  the 
means  at  its  disposal ;  but  it  happened  also  that  families,  not 
able  to  build  independently,  joined  in  groups  of  two,  three,  and 
more,  and  raised  a  house  in  common,  one  family  occupying  the 
ground  floor,  others  the  floors  above." 

This  passage  throws  considerable  light  on  the  history  of  human 
habitations  in  Rome,  about  which  such  scanty  information  has 
l)een  left  by  classics.  It  seems  that,  from  the  time  the  city  was 
built  on  the  Palatine  hill  to  the  reign  of  the  Tarquins,  the  Romans 
dwelt  in  huts,  not  unlike  those  which  to  the  present  day  give 
shelter  to  the  shepherds  of  the  Campagna.  They  are  composed 
of  a  framework  of  timber,  or  boughs,  with  thatched  walls  and 
conical  roofs,  and  a  ring  of  stones.  A  piece  of  ground,  called  the 
ancestral  field  or  the  familv  estate,  was  attached  to  each  hut.  its 


562  THE    GENERAL   ASPECT   OF   THE    CITY 

limits  being  marked  by  trees  sacred  to  Term  inns  or  Silvanus.  It 
measured  54,285  square  feet,  namely,  one  acre  and  thirty-nine 
perches,  a  space  obviously  insufficient  to  support  and  nom'ish  the 
family,  but  very  useful  as  a  domestic  garden  or  orchard.  It  con- 
tained also  the  family  tomb. 

In  spite  of  the  extension  of  the  city  limits  under  Servius  Tullius, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  whole  circuit  of  the  seven  hills  was 
included  in  the  new  line  of  walls,  space  began  very  soon  to  have 
a  marketable  value.  Wealthier  citizens  built  extensions  to  their 
houses,  like  shops  furnished  with  bedrooms,  and  small  apartments 
for  the  use  of  the  poorer  ones.  These  groups,  composed  of  the 
mansion  of  the  landlord  and  of  the  cottages  and  small  buildings 
around  them  rented  to  outsiders,  were  called  insulm  (islands)  be- 
cause, according  to  the  ancient  law,  they  were  surrounded  by  a 
narrow  strip  of  free  ground,  called  ainbilus,  isolating  them  from 
the  neighboring  estates. 

As  long  as  the  pi'ehistoric  system  of  habitations  lasted,  houses 
were  restricted  to  the  ground  floor  ;  but  when  stones  and  tiles 
began  to  take  the  place  of  boughs  and  lioards  and  thatched  roofs, 
the  height  of  buildings  increased.  Livy  describes  Tanaqiiil  ad- 
dressing the  people  thi-ough  the  windows  from  the  upper  part  of 
the  house,  but  she  was  a  lady  of  royal  bii-th  and  the  style  in  which 
she  lived  was  exceptional. 

No  better  evidence  can  we  get  of  the  fatal  law  which  divides 
men  assembled  in  cities  into  a  few  who  possess  a  large  property 
and  many  who  possess  nothing,  than  the  manner  in  which  the  few 
and  the  many  are  lodged.  There  were  hardly  eighteen  hundred 
families  of  wealth  and  rank  in  old  Rome  enjoying  the  luxuries  of  a 
palace  and  of  a  private  mansion,  while  about  one  liundred  thousand 
families  were  massed  in  lodgings  or  tenement  houses  hardly  fit 
for  human  hal)itation.  We  know  that  the  tenement  houses  were 
not  well  built :  their  foundations  were  not  sunk  to  the  proper 
depth  on  account  of  the  swampy  nature  of  the  subsoil ;  their 
front  walls  were  only  a  foot  and  a  half  thick,  and  patched  up  with 
sun-dried  bricks.  Such  houses  were  only  capable  of  one  story 
above  the  ground  floor.  At  the  time  of  Vitruvius,  about  15  b.  c, 
their  construction  had  undergone  some  improvement,  thanks  to  the 
energetic  action  of  Augustus,  and  thanks  also  to  the  increase  in 
the  value  of  space  which  compelled  builders  to  gain  in  height  what 
they  were  losing  in  surface.  Vitruvius  describes  the  new  tenement 
houses  as  composed  of  a  framework  of  solid  stone  with  partition 
walls  of  brick  or  concrete,  attaining  a  consideral)le  height,  and 


THE    GENERAL    ASPECT    OF    THE    CITY  563 

capable  of  accommodating  as  many  families  of  tenants  as  they  had 
floors.  Yet,  even  in  the  golden  age  of  Angustus,  cheap  building 
was  not  given  up  altogether.  In  the  inundation  of  5i  b.  c.  many 
houses  collapsed  because  the  waters  had  dissolved  the  sun-dried 
bricks  of  their  walls.  Augustus  was  compelled  to  dredge  and 
clear  out  the  bed  of  the  river  because  it  was  choked  up  by  the 
buildings  which  had  fallen.  The  inundation  of  A.  d.  69  under- 
mined hundreds  of  houses  even  in  inland  quarters ;  and  the  Em- 
peror Otho,  who  was  then  marching  against  Vitellius,  found  his 
way  barred  for  over  twenty  miles  by  the  ruins  of  buildings  on 
either  side  of  the  Via  Flaminia.  The  spontaneous  collapse  of  the 
tenement  houses  was  such  a  common  occurrence  that  nobody  paid 
attention  to  it,  although  it  is  an  event  which  would  fill  our  news- 
papers with  a  thrilling  subject  for  days.  The  fall  of  some  cot- 
tages, attended  with  loss  of  life,  is  related  by  Cicero  as  an  item 
hardly  worthy  of  serious  remark.  Seneca  depicts  the  tenants  of 
popidar  dens  as  fearing  at  the  same  time  to  be  buried  or  burnt 
alive.  There  were  companies  formed  for  the  purpose  of  propping 
and  sustaining  "  in  the  air  "  houses,  the  foundations  of  which  had 
to  be  strengthened. 

Jordan,  Richter,  De  Marchi,  and  others  have  tried  to  discover 
in  more  than  one  way  what  was  the  average  size  of  a  Roman 
insula,  and  how  many  tenants  it  was  capable  of  containing.  Sui> 
posing  the  population  to  have  been  1,000,000,  and  supposing  that 
a  private  palace  counted  IdO  inmates,  including  master,  servants, 
and  slaves,  we  find  that  179,000  people  livetl  in  palaces,  821,000  in 
tenement  houses.  This  would  give  about  18  tenants  for  each 
of  the  46.602  houses.  As  regards  their  size,  Jordan  suggests 
3.50  square  metres,  Richter  282,  while  De  ]\Iarchi  reminds  us  that 
in  the  oldest  quarters  of  Milan,  which  have  as  yet  resisted  civiliza- 
tion, the  area  of  such  houses  varies  from  a  minimum  of  112  to  a 
maximum  of  270  square  metres.  We  must  be  very  careful,  how- 
ever, in  forming  our  judgment  by  comparing  modern  with  an- 
cient cities,  as  the  consequences  may  be  misleading.  Many  points 
which  we  consider  now  as  absolutely  necessary  to  the  health  and 
welfare,  nay,  to  the  very  existence  of  a  city,  were  considered  in 
by-gone  days  a  matter  of  luxury,  or  were  perhaps  utterly  ignored. 
It  is  not  so  very  long  ago  since  a  municipal  law  of  the  city  of 
Milan  ordered  that  no  more  than  fourteen  people  should  sleep  in 
the  same  room  !  The  problem  is  very  complex,  and  the  figures 
obtained  by  comparing  our  own  municipal  statistics  with  those  of 
the  Curiosum  and  Xotitia  mean  little  or  nothing.     My  opinion  is 


564  THE    GENERAL   ASPECT    OF    THE    CITY 

that  the  ignoble  quarters  which  disfigured,  and  partly  disfigure 
still,  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ponte  Sant-Angelo,  of  the  Ghetto,  of 
the  Regola,  may  be  taken  as  the  nearest  representatives  of  the  old 
plebeian  quarters  of  the  Subura  and  of  the  Trastevere,  and  I 
agree  with  Xiebuhr  (Vortriige  iiber  Romische  Alterthumer,  p.  628) 
when  he  contends  that  the  houses  built  three  or  four  hundred 
years  ago  in  the  above-named  quarters  are  good  specimens  of  an 
old  Roman  insula.  The  comparison  is  proved  correct,  first,  by  the 
number  of  inmates,  which  varies  from  15  to  20 ;  secondly,  by  their 
surface  not  exceeding  200  square  metres ;  thirdly,  by  their  great 
height  in  comparison  with  their  width  ;  fourthly,  by  the  fact  that 
they  contain  as  many  families  as  there  are  floors ;  in  the  last  place, 
by  their  resemblance  to  the  celebrated  view  of  a  Roman  popular 
street,  discovered  by  Rosa  in  the  house  of  Germanicus  ou  the 
Palatine  (p.  149).  The  fragments  of  the  plan  of  the  city,  en- 
graved on  marble  under  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla,  show 
many  blocks  composed  entirely  of  insula^  and  surrounded  by  nar- 
row and  tortuous  streets. 

Archpeologists  have  collected  the  following  information  as 
regards  house  rents  in  Athens  and  Rome.  In  Athens,  lodging 
houses  wei'e  let  mostly  to  foreigners  who  came  there  on  business. 
Pasion,  the  banker,  had  one  valued  at  100  minas,  or  $2000.  City 
property,  yielding  a  return  of  rather  more  than  81  per  cent  on  the 
purchase  money,  is  mentioned  by  Isseus.  Boeckh  says  that  rents 
varied  from  a  minimum  of  3  minas,  or  $60,  to  a  maximum  of  120 
minas,  or  .f2400,  according  to  size,  location,  and  comfort  of  house. 
Rents  were  commonly  paid  by  the  month.  Lodgings  were  fre- 
quently hired  on  speculation  by  persons  called  favKKrjpoi,  who  made 
a  profit  by  underletting  them,  and  sometimes  for  not  very  reputable 
purposes.  Rents  in  Rome  were  equally  liigh,  even  for  a  miserable 
garret.  Persons  in  the  lowest  conditions  of  life  ajipear  to  have 
paid  2000  sesterces,  or  $85,  at  the  time  of  Julius  C?esar.  Coelius 
is  said  to  have  paid  80,000  sesterces,  or  $1330,  for  a  third  floor  in 
the  insula  of  Publius  Clodius.  Hence,  it  became  a  profitable 
speculation  to  build  or  to  hire  a  whole  insula,  or  a  whole  block, 
and  to  sublet  the  cenaciila,  single  rooms,  or  suites,  to  different 
tenants,  the  whole  establishment  being  placed  under  the  care  of  a 
manager  and  collector  of  rents,  called  i7isiilarius.  Noblemen,  own- 
ing a  large  town  property,  counted  among  their  clerks  a  procurator 
insularum. 

We  come  now  to  the  question  of  the  height  of  buildings.  We 
must  divide  them  into  three  classes  :  insula?,  palaces,  and  public 


THE    GENERAL    ASPECT   OF   THE    CITY  565 

buildings.  The  excessive  height  of  tenement  houses  is  noticed  for 
the  first  time,  I  believe,  in  Cicero,  who  compares  Rome  "  suspended 
in  the  air  "  to  Capua  lying  comfortably  down  in  the  plains  of 
Campania  Felix.  Seneca  complains  of  the  impunity  which  build- 
ers of  tall  tenement  houses  were  allowed  to  enjoy,  because  the  poor 
tenants,  perched  in  those  heights,  had  no  possible  escape  from  fire 
or  from  the  collapse  of  the  building  itself.  We  know  from  Sue- 
tonius that  Eutilius  Lupus,  who  died  after  77  b.  c.  had  written 
an  oration  "  on  the  height  of  public  and  private  buildings,"  a  fact 
which  pi'oves  that  excesses  in  this  line  of  speculation  had  already 
aroused  the  suspicions  and  fears  of  persons  intrusted  with  the  care 
of  public  interests.  There  is  no  doubt  that  towards  the  end  of 
tlie  Republic  Rome  had  higher  houses  than  some  large  modern 
cities.  While  the  Building  Act  promulgated  in  Berlin  in  1860 
admits  a  maximum  height  of  36  feet  only  —  provided  the  street  is 
of  the  same  width  —  and  a  greater  height  only  in  case  the  street 
should  be  considerably  broader  ;  while  the  Viennese  Building  Act 
allows  45  feet  (four  stories  at  the  utmost),  and  the  Parisian  63^ 
feet,  if  such  or  more  is  the  breadth  of  the  thoroughfare,  in  ancient 
Rome  higher  figures  were  allowed  with  no  consideration  whatever 
for  the  width  of  the  street.  Augustus,  to  obviate  disaster,  limited 
the  height  of  new  houses  to  70  Roman  feet  (20.79  metres),  at 
least  on  the  street  side,  and  recited  on  this  occasion  the  oration  of 
Rutilius  Lupus  to  prove  that  such  a  momentous  question  for  the 
welfare  of  the  city  had  been  taken  into  consideration  since  the 
time  of  the  Republic.  Tliis  fact  proves,  first,  that  the  height  of 
20  metres  had  been  generally  surpassed  before  tlie  time  of  Augus- 
tus; secondly,  tliat  the  new  regulations  concerned  street  fi'onts 
only,  and  not  the  back  part  of  houses  opening  on  yards,  alle3's,  or 
narrow  lanes ;  thirdly,  that  they  concerned  new  structures  alone, 
and  not  those  already  existing. 

In  spite  of  the  boast  attributed  to  the  founder  of  the  Empire, 
that  he  would  leave  built  of  marltle  the  city  which  he  had  found 
built  of  bricks,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  crowding,  the  unhealthi- 
ness,  the  congestion  of  popular  quarters,  and  their  want  of  air, 
light,  and  space,  remained  very  much  as  they  had  been  before. 
The  merit  of  having  put  an  end  to  this  wretched  state  of  things, 
of  having  renewed  the  aspect  of  the  metropolis,  altering  its  plan  in 
accordance  with  the  principles  of  sanitation  and  art,  belongs  to 
Nero.  He  set  the  whole  city  into  a  blaze  of  fire,  and  did  it  so 
cleverly  that,  of  the  fourteen  wards  into  which  Rome  had  been 
divided  by  Augustus,  three  were  annihilated,  seven  for  the  greater 


566  THE    GENERAL    ASPECT    OE    THE    CITY 

part  destroyed,  and  yet  not  a  single  life  was  lost  in  the  monstrous 
conflagration.  Severus  and  Celer,  the  Imperial  architects  charged 
with  the  reconstruction  of  the  city,  showed  themselves  equal  to 
their  task.  In  tracing  the  new  streets  and  avenues  through  the 
smoking  ruins,  they  followed  the  straight  line  and  the  right  angle, 
as  far  as  could  be  done  in  a  hilly  and  deeply  furrowed  region. 
Hasty  and  irregular  constructions  were  forbidden ;  large  squares 
were  opened,  in  place  of  filthy  and  densely  inhabited  quarters,  and 
the  height  of  private  houses  was  limited,  it  seems,  to  double  the 
width  of  the  street.  Porticoes  were  to  be  built  in  front  of  each 
dwelling  to  give  the  passer-by  protection  from  rain  and  from  heat ; 
lastly,  wooden  ceilings  were  excluded,  at  least  from  the  lower  sto- 
ries, and  isolation  of  houses  on  every  side  was  made  compulsory. 

A  new  building  act  fixing  the  height  of  tenement  houses  at  60 
feet  (17.83  metres)  was  issued  by  Trajan.  This  incessant  renewal 
of  regulation  after  regulation  shows  how  little  respect  speculatoi'S 
paid  to  them ;  and,  besides,  the  Imperial  ordinances  concerned,  as 
I  said,  only  the  front  of  houses,  not  their  interior  parts  opening 
on  courtyards  or  alleys.  No  doubt  these  back  sections  attained  a 
greater  height.  Martial  speaks  of  a  poor  man,  a  neighbor,  who 
had  to  mount  two  hundred  steps  (ducentas  acalas,  viz.  gradus)  to 
reach  his  garret.  Giving  to  each  step  0.15  metre,  that  garret  must 
have  been  perched  30  metres,  or  100  feet,  above  the  level  of  the 
street ;  but  Martial  uses  perhaps  a  hyperbolic  expression.  The 
same  poet  says  in  another  place,  "  scalis  habito  tribus,  sed  aids,"  "  I 
live  in  the  third  floor,  but  high  above  ground,"  which  seems  to 
indicate  that  ceilings  must  have  hung  very  low  in  ordinary  lodging 
houses  (rooms  have  been  found  at  Pompeii  only  1.95  metre  high). 
Juvenal  mentions  the  case  of  a  fire  which  had  already  attained 
the  third  floor  of  a  building,  without  being  noticed  by  the  poor 
tenants  living  in  the  topmost  stories  under  the  roof.  Tertullian 
compares  the  numberless  stories  of  a  tenement  house  to  the 
"  zones  "  of  heaven  imagined  by  the  Gnostics.  An  inscription 
discovered  on  October  8,  1819,  opposite  the  church  of  S.  Eligio  dei 
Ferrari  (near  the  Piazza  della  Consolazione)  describes  a  tenement 
house  belonging  to  a  Sertorius,  as  composed  of  ten  shops  and  six 
floors  above.  We  must  remember,  furthermore,  that  the  maximum 
height  was  allowed  by  law  independently  from  the  bi-eadth  of  the 
street,  so  that  in  this  respect  Rome  must  be  placed  far  behind  the 
large  modern  cities.  While  in  Berlin  the  medium  width  of  all 
the  streets  is  22  metres,  that  of  the  principal  living  streets  in  Rome 
reached  only  from   5  to  6  metres,  inferior  to  the  Parisian  mini- 


THE    GENERAL    ASPECT    OF    THE    CITY  567 

mum  of  7.80  metres ;  yet  while  in  sucia  cases  the  Parisians  can 
raise  tlieir  structui'es  onl}^  11.90  metres  above  the  level  of  the 
street,  the  Komans  were  permitted  to  reach  three  times  that  height. 

We  must  not  wonder  too  much  at  such  a  state  of  things.  There 
are  actually  in  Rome  —  in  Rome,  the  rejuvenated  capital  of  the 
kingdom  of  Italy  —  two  important  thoroughfares,  the  Via  degii 
Astalli  and  the  Via  delle  Colonnelle,  one  measuring  eight  feet,  be- 
tween the  Palazzo  Muti  and  the  Palazzo  della  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro, 
so  that  hardly  a  ray  of  light  can  force  its  way  between  the  eaves 
of  their  roofs ;  the  other  ten  feet,  between  the  church  of  la  Madda- 
lena  and  the  opposite  tenement  houses.  Pliny  says  that  no  city  in 
the  world  surpasses  Rome  if  the  height  of  houses  be  also  taken 
into  consideration.  Juvenal  calls  the  housetops  *■  sublime,"  and 
says  that  the  windows  are  apt  to  nuxke  one  giddy.  In  justice  to 
Rome,  we  must  also  remark  that  houses  three  and  four  stories 
high  are  mentioned  in  Babylon  by  Herodotus,  four  to  five  in 
Naples  by  Philostratos,  six  in  Carthage  by  Appianus,  eight  in 
Motya  by  Diodorus.  The  houses  of  Tyre  were  liigher  than  those 
of  Rome.  The  Emperor  Zeno,  referring  to  an  older  building  act 
of  Leo,  which  fixed  at  100  feet  the  maximum  height  of  houses  in 
course  of  reconstruction  after  a  fire,  extended  the  privilege  to  all 
new  structures,  provided  they  should  be  separated  one  from  the 
other  in  every  direction  by  an  interval  of  100  feet.  The  law  ad- 
mitted, however,  one  exception,  that  no  one  could  take  away  from 
his  neighbor  the  view  of  the  sea.  So  far  as  regards  the  tenement 
houses. 

Palaces  and  private  mansions  may  be  left  aside,  because,  as  a 
rule,  they  were  but  two  stories  high.  The  Imperial  palace  makes 
an  exception.  The  wing  built  by  Caligula  at  the  north  corner  of 
the  Palatine  hill,  overlooking  the  Forum,  rose  150  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  Nova  Via,  which  street  was  only  12  feet  across!  The 
palace  of  Septimius  Severus,  at  the  opposite  corner  of  the  hill,  rose 
180  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Via  Triumphalis. 

Public  edifices  were  built  on  an  equally  grand  scale.  Let  me 
mention  again  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  erected  by  Aurelian,  after 
his  conquest  of  Palmyi'a,  in  that  part  of  theQuirinal  which  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Villa  Colonna  (see  p.  428).  Its  columns  measured 
1.95  metre  in  diameter,  and  17.06  metres  in  height,  not  including 
the  capital,  which  alone  measured  2.47  metres.  The  entablature 
measured  4.88,  and  was  composed  of  blocks  of  marble  5  metres 
long  :  total  height  of  order,  2(i  metres ;  of  temple,  including  steps, 
pediment,  and  acroteria,  35  metres  ;  to  which  we  must  add  the 


568  THE    GENERAL    ASPECT    OF   THE    CITY 

height  of  the  cliff  on  the  edge  of  Avhich  the  temple  rose.  The 
Cfelii  Saturnini,  v>'ho  lived  at  the  foot  of  the  clitt'  in  a  noble  man- 
sion discovered  in  1854  (under  the  Palazzo  Filippani,  Piazza  della 
Pilotta),  must  have  seen  the  chariot  of  the  god  glittering  in  the 
morning  sun  200  feet  above  their  heads. 

The  reader  may  ask  at  this  point  why,  in  treating  the  subject,  I 
bring  forward  only  the  evidence  of  classics,  and  not  that  of  per- 
sonal experience,  and  of  actual  discoveries  made  in  Kome  in  the 
course  of  the  last  quarter  of  a  centur3^  The  fact  is  that  no  insulse 
have  been  found  which  could  be  excavated  systematically ;  and 
even  if  they  had  been  found,  we  could  have  studied  only  their 
ground  plan,  not  their  elevation.  The  Insula  Sertoriana,  opjiosite 
the  church  of  S.  Eligio  dei  Ferrari,  has  never  been  excavated,  the 
only  portion  discovered  being  two  shop  doors  opening  on  the 
])ublic  street.  The  Insula  Bolaniana,  discovered  in  March,  1743,  in 
the  foundations  of  the  monastery  of  S.  Pasquale  Baylon,  Traste- 
vere,  was  also  left  unexplored,  the  only  part  described  being  the 
well  which  occupied  the  centre  of  the  court.  A  third  insula  named 
Vitaliana  was  found  in  the  spring  of  last  year  near  the  apse  of  S. 
Pietro  in  Vincoli,  under  cii'cumstances  that  made  a  search  im- 
possible without  damage  to  the  houses  above.  The  only  fact  that 
I  can  point  out  to  specialists  interested  in  the  question  is  this  : 
In  describing  the  attack  made  by  the  partisans  of  Vitellius  on 
those  of  Vespasian,  who  had  intrenched  themselves  in  the  Capi- 
tolium,  Tacitus  distinctly  affirms  that  the  roofs  of  houses  which 
surrounded  the  sacred  hill  were  level  Mith  the  platform  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus.  The  j^latf  orm  of  the  temple, 
still  visible  in  the  gardens  of  the  Caffarelli  palace,  now  occupied 
by  the  German  Embassy,  rises  31  metres  above  the  level  of  the 
ancient  street  which  skirts  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  on  the  north  side ; 
therefore,  the  houses  built  against  the  cliffs  were  at  least  31  metres 
high.  The  account  of  Tacitus  is  confirmed  by  existing  ruins. 
Near  the  apse  of  the  church  of  La  Beata  Rita,  Via  Giulio  Romano, 
there  are  remains  of  an  insula,  of  which  only  four  stories  are  left 
standing,  one  half  perhaps  of  the  original  number.  That  insula 
when  perfect  must  have  reached  the  level  of  the  Arx  now  repre- 
sented by  the  church  of  the  Aracoeli. 

Such  are  the  facts  connected  wdth  the  question  of  the  general 
aspect  of  the  city  of  the  Cfesars.  The  Romans  went  undoubtedly 
beyond  the  line  ;  but  they  had  at  least  two  excuses  in  their  favor. 
The  first  is  alluded  to  by  Tacitus  —  in  describing  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the   city   after  the  fire  of  Nero,  with  large  avenues,  and 


THE    GENERAL    ASPECT   OF    THE    CITY  569 

large  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles,  lined  with  houses 
of  moderate  height  —  when  he  says  that  in  cities  of  southern 
latitudes  (and  snbject  to  malaria)  shade  is  more  agreeable  and 
desirable  than  the  fiery  rays  of  the  sun  ;  and  that  the  health  of 
the  inliaV)itants  in  malarious  regions  is  favored  by  agglomeration 
more  tlum  by  dissemination  over  a  large  area.^  Tlie  second  excuse 
lies  in  the  want  of  proper  means  of  locomotion  from  one  part  of 
the  city  to  another.  It  makes  very  little  difference  to  a  Londoner 
to  lodge  miles  away  from  his  club,  from  his  office,  from  his  shop, 
because  he  can  reach  his  destination  quickly,  comfortably,  and 
cheaply  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  The  old  Romans,  on 
the  contrary,  had  no  means  of  contending  with  distances ;  there- 
fore they  increased  the  height  of  their  insulae  in  the  central  quar- 
ters instead  of  building  new  ones  in  the  outlying  districts. 

1  In  the  city  of  the  iiopes  the  healthiest  district  was  the  overcrowded  and 
overbuilt  Giietto,  in  whicli  six  thousand  Jews  were  massed  in  houses  of  ex- 
ceptional height. 


APPENDIX 


A.     Comparison  between  Years  of  the  Christian  and  of 
THE  Roman  Eras. 


(V.  c.) 

(V.  c.) 

/■d   ^  \ 

(A.D.) 

(V.  c.) 

i* 

.D.)      (V.  C.) 

Anni  ab 

Urbe 
Condita. 

(b.  c.) 
Anni  Ante 
Christum. 

Anni  ab 

Urbe 
Condita. 

(B.  C.) 

Anni  Ante 
Christum. 

Anni  a 
Christo 
Nato. 

Anni  ab 

Urbe 
Condita. 

Ai 
Ch 

N 

mi  a   Anni  ab 
risto    Urbe 
ato.   Condita. 

1 

753 

325 

429 

1 

7.54 

25     1078 

10 

744 

350 

404 

10 

763 

i50     1103 

20 

734 

375 

379 

20 

773 

!75     1128 

30 

724 

400 

3.54 

30 

783 

' 

too     1153 

40 

714 

425 

329 

40 

793 

t25     1178 

50 

704 

450 

304 

.50 

803 

150     1203 

60 

694 

475 

279 

60 

813 

t75     1228 

70 

084 

500 

254 

70 

823 

)00     12 

53 

80 

674 

525 

229 

80 

833 

90 

664 

550 

204 

90 

843 

100 

6.54 

575 

179 

100 

853 

]2.5 

629 

600 

1.54 

125 

878 

1.50 

604 

625 

129 

1.50 

903 

175 

579 

650 

104 

175 

928 

200 

.554 

675 

79 

200 

9.53 

225 

529 

700 

54 

225 

978 

250 

504 

725 

29 

2.50 

1003 

275 

479 

750 

4 

275 

1028 

.300 

454 

7.53 

1 

300 

10.53 

B.  C. 

48. 


B.     Chronological  List  of  Roman  Emperors. 

Citiu.''  Julius  Cesar, 
son  of  C.  Caesar  and  of  Aurelia,  born  100  b.  c,  pont.  max.  63,  dictator 
48,  assassinated  March  15th,  44.     His  wife  — 
Cornelia,  dau.  of  L.  Cinna,  d.  68. 

Caius  Octavius  C(esar  Augustus  (Ocfarinnus), 
.son  of  C.  Octavius  (died  .58)  and  Atia,  niece  of  .Tulius  Cassar,  b.  6-3,  de- 
clared Emperor  29,   obtained  the  name  of  Augustus  27,  d.  Aug.  29th, 
A.  D.  14.     His  wives  — 

1.  Clorlia,  dau.  of  Clodius  and  Fulvia. 

2.  Scribonia,  married  40  b.  c,  divorce<l  38. 

3.  Livia  Drusilla,  tirst  married  to  Tib.  Chiudius,  b.  57  b.  c,  d.  a.  d.  29. 


APPENDIX 


27.  Octavia,  his  sister,  married  C.  Marcellus,  50  b.  c,  M.  Antony,  40  n.  C, 

d.  11.     Her  son  by  Marcellus  — 
Marcellus,  m.  Julia,  dau.  of  Augustus,  adopted  successor,  d.  23  r..  c. 
Julia's  children  by  Marcus  Agrippa  — 

1.  Caius  Ccesar,  b.  20  b.  c,  d.  4. 

2.  Lucius  Ccesar,  b.  17  b.  c,  d.  2. 

3.  Julin,  m.  L.  ^Emilius  Paulus,  d.  a.d.  28. 

A.  D. 

14.    Tiberius  Claudius  Nero  Ccesar, 

b.  Nov.  16th,  42  b.  c,  Caesar  a.  d.  4,  smothered  March  10th,  37.    Married 

1.  ]'ij)S(tnia  Ai/rijjpina.     Their   son,    J>nisus  Junior,   b.  13,   poisoneil 

A.  D.  23. 

2.  Julia,  dau.  of  Augustus,  d.  a.  d.  14. 

Drusus  Senior,  his  brother,  b.  38  b.  c,  d.  a.d.  9.     Married  — 
Antonia,  b.  38  b.  c,  poisoned  a.  d.  38.     Their  son  — 
Germanicus,  b.  15  B.C.,  Cwsar  a.d.  4,  poisoned  a.d.  9.     Married  — 
Ayrippina  Senior,  dau.  of  M.  Agrippa  and  of  Julia,  dau.  of  Augustus, 
b.  15  B.  c,  starved  to  death  a.  d.  33.     Their  sixth  child  — 
37.    Gaius  Ccesar  Caligula, 

b.  \.  D.  12,  murdered  Jan.  24th,  41.     Married  — 

1.  Claudia,  d.  30. 

2.  Orestilla,  consort  of  ("n.  Piso. 

3.  Lollia  Paulina. 

4.  CcBsonia,  killed  41. 

41.    Tiberius  Claudius  Drusus  Nero  Germanicus, 

son  of  Drusus  Senior  and  Antonia,  i).  10  li.  (.,  poisoned  a.  d.  54.     Mar- 
ried— 

1.  Plcetia  Urr/ulauilla. 

2.  yElia  Pa'tina. 

3.  Valeria  Messallina,  killed  is.     Their  son  — 

Britanniciis,  b.  42,  poisoned  55. 

4.  Afjrippina  Junior,  dau.  of  Germanicus  and  Agrippina  Senior,  ni., 

first   Cn.    Domitius    Ahenobarbus,    secondly   Crispus    Passienus, 

thirdly  Claudius. 
54.    Nero  Claudius  Ccesar  Drusiis  Germanicus, 

son  of  Cn.  Domitius  Ahenobarbus  and  Agripjiina  Junior,  b.  37,  Caesar 
50,  killed  himself  08.     INIarried  — 

1.  Octavia,  dau.  of  Claudius  and  Messallina,  b.  about  42,  killed  her- 

self 62. 

2.  Poppcva  Sabina,  wife  of  Otho,  d.  66. 

3.  Statilia  Messallina. 

68.  Ser.  Sulpicius  Galba, 

b.  Dec.  24th,  3,  murdered  69. 

69.  ]\f.  Salrius  Otho, 

b.  32,  Emperor  Jan.  15tli,  6i),  killed  himself  April  16th,  69. 

()9.     A.   VlTELI-IUS, 

son  of  L.  Vitellius  (d.  49),  b.  15,  Emperor  Jan.  2d,  6-9,  killed  Dec.  22d. 
69.     His  brother  — 
L.  Vilellius. 


CHROXOLOGTCAL   LIST   OF  ROMAN   EMPERORS      573 


69.    T.  Flavins  Sahiniis  Yespasianus, 

b.  Nov.  ITth,  y,  d.  June  2-lrth,  79.     Married  — 
Flavin  DomitiUu.     Their  dau.  — 
Domitilla,  ni.  Flavius  Clemens. 
79.    Titus  Flavius  Sabinus  Vesjjasianus, 

son  of  Vespasian,  b.  Dec.  30th,  40,  C*sar  G9,  Emperor  with  his  father 
71,  d.  Sept.  13th,  81.     Married  — 

1.  Arrecina  Tertulla. 

2.  Marcia   Furnilla.     Tiieir   dau.    Julia   married    Flavius    Sabinus, 
nephew  of  Vespasian. 

81.    T.  FUnniis  Domitianus, 

son  of  Vespasian,   b.  51,   C;i?sar  69,  assassinated  Sept.  18th,  96.     Mar- 
ried— 

Domitia,  dau.  of  Domitius  C'drbulo,  d.  140.     Their  son  — 
An  on  y  mil, 1.  , 

96.   ^1/.  Cocceius  Xkkva, 

b.  32,  d.  Jan.  27th,  98. 
98.   Marcus  Ulpiiis  Tha.taxus, 

b.  Sept.  ]8tii,  .52  or  53,  associated  in  Empire  witii  Nerva,  97,  d.  Aug. 
117.     Married  — 

Poinpeia  Plotina,  d.  100. 
Marciana,  his  sister,  mother  of  — 
Matidia. 
117.   P.  uElius  Hadrianus, 

b.  76,  adopted  by  Trajan  117,  d.  July  138.     ^Married  — 
Julia  Sabina,  dau.  of  Matidia,  killed  herself  137. 
138.    T.  ^Elius  Iladritinus  Antoxim  s  Tius, 

I).  Sept.  19th,  86,  adopted  l)y  Hadrian  138,  d.   March  7th,  161.    Mar- 
ried — 

Annia  Galeria  Faustina  Senior,  b.  105,  d.  141.     Their  son  — 
Galerius  Antunliius. 
161.   M.  AuRELius  Antoninus, 

son  of  Hadrian's  sister  Paulina,  b.  April  20lh,  121,  adopted  by  Anto- 
ninus 1.38,  d.  March  17th,  180.     Married,  138  — 

Annia  Faustina  Junior,  dau.  of  Antoninus  I'ius  and  Faustina,  d.  175. 
Their  children  — 

1.  Annius  Verus,  b.  163,  Ca;sar  166,  d.  170. 

2.  Annia  Lucilla.     Married  — 

I.ncius  Aurtlius   Verus,   son  of  L.  Ceioni'is   Commodus,  adopted  by 
Antoninus  138,  associated  in  Empire  151,  d.  169. 
180.    L.  Aurelius  Comxodcs, 

I).  161,  CiBsar  166,  Emperor  176,   strantjled   Dec.  31st,   192.     Married  — 
Bruttia  Crisjnna,  d.  183. 
193.    P.  Ilelrlus  Pertixax, 

b.  126,  murdered  March  28th,  193.     Married  — 
Flaria  Titiana.     Their  son  — 
P.  Helvius  Pertixax. 


574  AFPENDIX 

A.  D. 

193.   M.  DiDHis  Salvius  Iulianus, 

b.  133,  Emperor  March  28th,  193,  murdered  June  1st,  193.    Married  — 
Manila  Scantiila.     Their  dau.  — 
Didia  Clara. 
193.    C.  Pescennius  Niger, 

.■saluted   Emperor  by  the  legions  in  the  East  193,  killed  194. 
193.    Clodius  Albixus, 

named  Ciesar  by   Septimius    Severus  193,  took   title  of  Emperor  196, 
killed  197. 
193.   L.  Septimius  Severlts, 

b.  14(5,  d.  Feb.  4th,  211.     Married  — 

Julia  Dmnna,  starved  herself  to  death  217.     Their  son  — . 
Septimius  Gein,  h.  189,  Ca?sar  198,  Emperor  with  Caracalla  211,  assas- 
sinated 212. 
211.    Mai-cus  Aurdius  Antoninus  Cakacalla, 

son  of  Severus,  b.  188,  C;vsar  196,  Augustus  198,  sole  Emperor  212. 
Married  — 

Fulvia  PlaiifUla,  dau.  of  Fulrius  Pluutianus. 
Murdered  217  by  — 

217.  M.  Opeliins  ^Iackinus, 

b.  164,  killed  218,  with  his  son — 

M.   OpelliuS  DiADUMKNIANU.S. 

218.  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  Elagabalus,  or  Heliogabalus, 

son  of  Varius  Marcellus  and  Julia  Soumias  Bassiana,  and  grandson  of 
Julia  Msesa  (sister  of  Julia  Domna),  b.  205,  killed  222.     Married  — 

1.  Julia  Cornelia  Paula,  divorced  200. 

2.  Aquilia  Severa. 

3.  Annia  Faustina. 

222.    M.  Aurdius  Severus  Alexander, 

son  of  Gessius  Marcianus  and  Julia  Mamnuea,  dau.  of  Julia  Mfesa, 
b.  Oct.  1st,  205,  adopted  bj'  Elagabalus  as  Ca?sar  221,  murdered  235. 
Married  — 

2.  Memmia. 

3.  Herennia  Sallustia  Barhia  Orhiann. 
235.    C.  .Julius  Verus  Maximixi:s, 

b.  173,  assassinated  238.     Married  — 
Paulina.     Their  son  — 

C.  Julius  Verus  Maxi Jtus,  Ca\sar  238,  killed  238.     Married  — 
Juma  Fadilta. 
238.    M.  Antonius  Gordianus  Afrtcanus  I., 

son  of  Metius  Marullus  and  Ulpia  Gordiana,  b.  158,  killed  himself  238. 
Married  — 

Fabia  Orestilla.     Their  son  — 
Gordianus  Africanus  TI., 
b.  192,  Emperor  with  his  father  for  fortv  (lavs,  killed  238. 
238.    Z).  C(e//«s  Balbinus, 
b.  178,  and 

Maximus  Clodius  PrriEXus, 
b.  164,  joint  Emperors  for  three  months,  murdered  June,  238. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   LIST    OF   ROMAN  EMPERORS      575 


238.   GoRDiAxus  Plus  III., 

grandson  of  Gordianus  I.,  b.  222,  Ctesar  238,  assassinated  244.     Married  — 
Furia  Sabinia  Tranquillina,  dau.  of  Temesitheus. 
244.    M.  Julius  Philippus, 

b.  204,  killed  249.     Married  — 

Marcia  Otacilia  Severn.     Their  son  — 
M.  Julius  Philippus, 

b.  237,  CiBsar  244,  Augustus  247,  killed  249. 
249.    C.  Messius  Quintus  Trajanus  Dkcius, 
b.  201,  drowned  251.     Married  — 

Herennia  Cupressenia  Etruscilla.     Their  sons  — 

1.  Q.  Herennius  Etruscus,  Csesar  249,  Augustus  251,  killed  251. 

2.  C.  Valens  Hostilianus,  Ca?sar  249,  Emperor  with  Gallus  251,  d.  same 

year. 
251.    C.  Viljius  Trebonidnus  GAt,L,U!i, 
killed  254.     Married  — 
AJinia  Gemina  Bebtana.     Their  son  — 
C.  Vibius  VoLUSiANUs,  CiBsar  251,  Emperor  252,  killed  254. 

jEmilius  ^Emilianus,  b.  208,    Emperor   in   Moesia  253,   killed   254. 

Married  — 
Cornelia  Supera. 
253.   P.  Licinius  Valerianus, 

b.  190,  taken  prisoner  by  the  Persians  200,  d.  203. 
Marininna,  his  second  wife,  motlier  of  — 
Vdlevinnus  }\.m\or,  killed  2C8. 
P.  Licinius  Valerianus  Egnatius  Galliexts, 

son  of  Valerianus  by  his   Krst  wife.  Emperor  253,   assassinated  268. 
Married  — 

Cornelia  Salunina. 
Tetkicus  pater,  Emi)er(ir  in  Gaul  207,  defeated  by  Aurelian  274.     His 
son  — 

Tetririisfilius,  (';vsar  in  (Jaul  207. 
2G8.    M.  Aurelius  Claudius  (jothicus, 
b.  214,  d.  270.     His  brother  — 

Quintilhis,  Emperor  at  Aquileia,  270. 
270.    L.  Domitius  Aurelianus, 

b.  207,  assassinated  275.     Married  — 
Vlpia  Severina. 

275.  M.  Claudius  Tacitus, 

assassinated  April,  276.     His  brother  — 

276.  M.  Annius  Floeiaxus, 

b.  232,  Emperor  for  two  months,  killed  276. 
276.    M.  Aurelius  Probus, 

b.  232,  massacred  282. 
282.    M.  Aurelius  Carus, 

b.  2-30,  killed  by  lightning  283.     His  sons  — 
M.  Aurelius  Carixus, 

b.  249,  C»sar  282,  Emperor  283,  killed  284.     His  son  — 
Nl(/ri)iianus. 


57  G  APPENDIX 


■282.    M.  Aurelius  Numerianus, 

b.  254,  Csesar  282,  Augustus  283,  d.  284. 
284.    C.  Aurelius  Valerius  Diocletianus, 

b.  245,  abdicated  305,  d.  313.     Married  — 
Prisca,  executed  by  order  of  Liciuius,  315. 
^f.  Aurelius  Valerius  Maximianus  I., 

styled  Herculius,  associated  in  the   Empire  with  Diocletian  28G,  abdi- 
cated 305,  retook  the  Empire  306,  abdicated  again  308,  Emperor  again 
309,  strangled  himself  310.     Married  — 
Eutropia.     Their  son  — 
M.  Aurelius  Valerius  Maxentiu.s, 

b.  282,  Emperor  of  Kome  30(i,  drowned  in  tlie  Tiber  312.  Mar- 
ried — 

Valeria  Maximilla.     Their  son  — 
Romulus,  b.  300,  CiBsar  307,  d.  309. 
305.    Constantius  Chlokus, 

b.  250,  Ca-sar  292,  d.  300.     His  wives  — 

1.  Helena,  d.  328. 

2.  Theodora.     His  children  — 
Constant ia,  d.  330.     ^Married  — 

IJcinius  senior,  b.  263,  associated   in  the   Empire  with  Galerius 
Maximianus  307,  put  to  dealii  by  (Nmstantine  323. 
Eutro2)ia. 
.Julius  Constantius.     Married  — 

1.  Galla. 

2.  Basilina. 

Galerius  Valerius  Maximianus  Armentarius, 

adopted  and  named  Cstsar  by  Diocletian  292,  Augustus  and  Eni]ieror 

305,  d.  311.     His  second  wife  was  — 

Galei'ia  Valeria,  dan.  of  Diocletian  and  Prisca,  executed  by  order 
of  Licinius  315. 
300.    Flariiis  Valerius  Con.stantinus  Magnus, 

son  of  C.  Chlorus  and  Helena,   b.  274,   named  Civsar  and   Augustus 

306,  converted  to  Christianity  311,  sole  Emperor  311,  changed  the 
seat  of  Government  to  Byzantium  (Constantinople)  330,  d.  337.  Mar- 
ried — 

1.  Minervina.     Their  son  — 

Flavitis  Julius  Crisjms,  b.  300,  Ca?sar  317,  juit  tn  death  by  order 

of  his  father  326.     Married  — 
Helena. 

2.  Fansta,  dan.  of  Maximian,  smothered   by  order  of  her  husliand 

326.     Their  son  — 
337.    Flavins  Julius  Constantinus  H., 

b.  310,  Cffsar  317,  killed  340.     His  brother  — 

CONSTANS    I., 

b.  320,  Cassar  333,  Emperor  of  the  East  346,  assassinated  350.     His 
brother  — 
Constantius  II., 
b.  317,  C»sar  .323,  Augustus  .337,  Master  of  all  the  Empire  3.50,  d.  301. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    LIST   OF   ROMAN   EMPERORS      5.  i 

A.   D. 

337.    Fhirlus  Popilius  Magnentius, 

b.  303,  Emperor  at  Autun  350,  killed  himself  353.     His  brother  — 
Decentius,  Cfesar  351,  killed  himself  353. 
Constantius  Gallus, 
son  of  Julius  Constantius  and  (ialla,  b.  325,  Csesar  351,  executed  354. 
Married  — 

Constantina,  wife  first  of  Hannibalianus,  d.  354. 
3G0.    Flavins  Claudius  Julianus, 

surnamed  the  Apostate,  son  of  Julius  Constantius  and  Basilina,  b.  331, 
CiBsar  355,  Emperor  at  Paris  360,   sole  Emperor  3G1,  killed  in  battle 
against  the  Persians  3f)3.     Married  — 
Helena,  dau.  of  Constantine. 
303.    Flavins  Claudius  AitviASva, 

b.  .331,  d.  Feb.  17th,  364. 
364.   Valentinianus  II., 

son  of  (iratianus,  b.  .321,  d.  375.     Married  — 
1.  ]'a!eria  >SVcf/'rt,  mother  of  — 

GUATIAXUS, 

b.  .3.50,  Augustus  at  Amiens  3fil,  I'.niperor  375,  slain  389.     Married  — 

1.  Constanfia,  dau.  of  Constantinus  II.,  d.  383. 

2.  Justina,  mother  of  — 
383.    Vai.entinianus  II., 

b.  371,  Augustus  375,  Kinjieror  of  tlic  West  383,  assassinated  3!l-_'. 
Valens  (East), 

brother  of  Valentinianus  I.,  1).  328,  associated  in  the   Enii)ire  and  Au- 
gustus 364,  burnt  alive  378. 
37!t.    Theodosujs  Magnus  I.  (East), 

b.  346,  Augustus  and  associated  in  the  Empire  by  (iratian  37'J,  d.  Jan. 
17th,  39.5.     Married  — 

1.  Flaccilla,  d.  388. 

2.  Galla,  dau.  of  Valentinian  I. 

Eufjenius,  rhetorician,   proclaimed  Emperor  by  Arbogastes  392,  de- 
feated and  slain  by  Theodosius  394. 
Arcadius,  son  of  Theodosius,  b.  377,  Augustus  ;i83,  l'".ni|irnir  of  the 

East  395,  d.  408.     Married  — 
Eudoxia,  d.  404.     Their  son  — 

Theodosius  IL,  b.  401,  Augustus  4()2,  Enijieror  of  the  East  418,  d.4.50. 
395     Flavius  Honokius, 

youngest  son  of    Tluuddsius   and    Flaccilla,   b.  384,   Augustus  393,   d. 
423.     Married  — 

Maria,  dau.  of  Stilicho. 
Constantius  III., 

Augustus  and  associated  in  Empire  of  the  West  421,  d.  the  same  j-ear. 
Married  41 7  — 

Galla  Placidia,    sister  of  Honorius,  widow  of  Ataulf.   king  of  the 

(ioths,  died  423. 
Priscus  Attalus,  made  Emperor  by  Ahii'ic  at  Rome  409,  deprived  of 
that  title,  reassumed  it  in  (iaul  410,  died  in  the  island  of  Lipari. 


578  APPENDIX 

A.  D. 

425.   Placidus  Valentinianus  III., 

son  of  Constantius  III.  and  Galla  Placidia,  b.  419,  slain  by  Petronius 
Maximus  455.     Married  — 

Licinia  Eudoxia,  dau.  of  Theodosins  II.     Their  dau.  — 
Eudoeia,  married  Hunneric,  son  of  Geuseric,  king  of  the  Vandals. 
455.   Petronius  Maximus, 

b.  395,  slain  after  a  reign  of  three  months.     Married  — 
Licinia  Eudoxia,  widow  of  Valentinianus  III. 
455.    Flavius  Ccecilius  Avitus, 

deposed  456. 
457.   Julius  Majorianus, 

compelled  to  abdicate  401,  died  five  days  after. 
4(51.    Libiiis  Seykrus, 

d.  465. 
467.   Anthemius, 

son  of  Procopius,  slain  by  his  son-in-law  Ricimer  407.     Married  — 
Eujjhemia,  dau.  of  the  Em])eror  Marcianus. 
472.    Olybrius,  Anicius, 

a  Roman  Senator,  d.  472.     Married  — 
Placidia,  dau.  of  Valentinian  III.  and  Eudoxia. 

474.  JuLiu.s  Nepos, 

retired  to  Dalmatia  475,  assassinated  by  Glycerins  480,  married  a  niece 
of  the  Empress  Yerina. 

475.  Romulus  Augustui.us, 

son  of  Orestes,  a  i)atrician,  dethroned  by  Odoacer,  king  of  the  Heruli, 
476,  who  assumes  the  title  of  King  of  Italy. 


C.     Chronological  List  of  the  First  Kings  of  Italy. 

476  Odoacer  540  Theodebald 

493  Theodoric  541  Eraric 

526  Athalaric  541  Totila  or  Badiula 

534  Theodatus  -                  552  Theias 

536  Vitiges 


D.     Chronological  List  of  the  Popes. 
St.  Peter  to  Hadrian  I. 


(From 

Duchesne  - 

-  Lilier  Pon 

tificalis. 

vol. 

i.  p.  cclx.) 

Date  of  Election. 

Date  of  Death. 

Name. 

? 

Feb. 

22 

67 

.Tune  29 

Petrus 

*67 

Linus 

*78 

Anencletus 

(Cletus) 

*91 

Clemens  I. 

*96 

Evarestus 

*  Approximate  dates. 


LIST   OF    THE   POPES 


570 


Date  of  Election. 

Date  of  Death. 

Name. 

»10'J 

Alexander 

*119 

Xystus  I. 

*127 

Telesphorus 

*139 

Hyginus 

*142 

Pius 

*157 

Anicetus 

*168 

Soter 

*177 

Eleutherus 

*193 

Victor  I. 

*202 

Zephyrinus 

*219 

Callistus  I. 

*22:3 

Urban  us  I. 

230  July 

21  discinctus 

235 

Sept. 

28 

Pontianus 

235  Nov. 

21 

236 

Jan. 

3 

Anteros 

236  Jan. 

10 

250 

Jan. 

20 

Fabianus 

251  Mar. 

253 

June 

Cornelius 

253  June 

25 

254 

Mai-. 

5 

Lucius 

25-4  May 

12 

257 

Aug. 

2 

Stephanus  I. 

257  Aug. 

30 

258 

Aug. 

6 

Xystus  II. 

259  July 

22 

268  Dec. 

26 

Dionysius 

269  Jan. 

5 

274  Dec. 

30 

Felix 

275  Jan. 

4 

283 

Dec. 

7 

Eutychianus 

283  Dec. 

17 

296 

April 

22 

Gains 

296  June 

30 

304 

Oct. 

25 

■    Marcellinus 

308  May 
June 

27  (or  1 
26)       ) 

309 

Jan. 

16 

Marcellus 

309  or             / 

310  April  18  ( 

309 
310 

or 
Aug. 

17  1 

Eusebius 

311  July 

2 

314 

Jan. 

11 

Miltiades 

314  Jan. 

31 

335 

Dec. 

31 

Silvester 

336  Jan. 

18 

336 

Oct. 

7 

Marcus 

337  Feb. 

6 

352 

April 

;  12 

Julius 

352  Jlay 

17 

366 

Sept. 

24 

Liberius 

366  Oct. 

1 

384 

Dec. 

11 

Damasus 

384  Dec.    15          / 
or  22  or  29  j 

399 

Nov. 

26 

Siricius 

399  Nov. 

27 

401 

Dec. 

19 

Anastasius  I. 

401  Dec. 

22 

417 

Mar. 

12 

Innocentius  I, 

417  Mar. 

18 

418 

Dec. 

26 

Zosinius 

418  Dec. 

29 

422 

Sept. 

4 

Bonifatius  I. 

422  Sept. 

10 

432 

Julv 

27 

Cffilestinus  I. 

432  July 

31 

440 

Aug. 

19 

Xystus  III. 

440  Sept. 

29 

461 

Nov. 

10 

Led. 

461  Nov. 

19 

468 

Feb. 

29 

Hilarius 

468  Mar. 

3 

483 

Mar. 

10 

Simplicius 

483  Mar. 

13 

492 

JIar. 

1 

Felix  III. 

492  Mar. 

1 

496 

Nov. 

21 

Gelasius 

496  Nov. 

24 

498 

Nov. 

19 

Anastasius  II. 

*  Approximate  dates. 

580 


APPENDIX 


Date  of  Election. 
498  Nov.  22 
514  July  20 
523  Aug.  13 
526  July  12 
530  Sept.  22 
533  Jan.      2 

535  May    13 

536  June     1  or 

537  Mar.  2S) 
556  April  16 
561  July  17 
575  June  2 
579  Nov.  26 
590  Sept.  3 
604  Sept.  13 

607  Feb.  19 

608  Aug.  25 
615  Oct.  19 
619  Dec.  23 
625  Oct.  27 
640  May  28 
640  Dec.  24 
642  Nov.  24 
649  July 
654  Aug.  10 
657  July  30 
672  April  11 
676  Nov.  2 
678  June  27 
682  Aug.  17 

684  June  26 

685  July  23 

686  Oct".  21 

687  Dec.  15 
701  Oct.  30 
705  Mar.  1 
708  Jan.  15 
708  Mar.  25 
715  Mav  19 
731  Mar.  18  ' 
741  Dec.  10 
752  Mar.  26 
757  May  29 
768  Aug.  7 
772  Feb.   9 


Date  of  Death. 
514  July  19 
523  Aug.  6 
526  aiay  18 
530  Sept.  22 
532  Oct.  17 

535  May     8 

536  April  22 

537  Mar.  11  delectus 
555  June     7 

561  Mar.  4 
574  July  13 
579  July  30 
590  Feb.  7 
604  Mar.    12 

606  Feb.    22 

607  Nov.  12 
615  May  8 
618  Nov.  8 
625  Oct.  25 
638  Oct.  12 
640  Aug.  2 
642  Oct.  12 
649  May  14 

653  June  17  delectus 

657  June  2 

672  Jan.  27 

676  June  17 

678  April  11 

681  Jan.  10 

683  July  3 

685  May  8 

686  Aug.  2 

687  Sept.  21 
701  Sept.  8 
705  .Jan.  11 

707  Oct.  18 

708  Feb.  4 
715  April  9 
731  Feb.  11 
741  Dec.    10 

752  Mar.  22  or  23 
757  April  26 
767  June  28 
772  Feb.      3 
795  Dec.    26 


Name. 
Symniachus 
Hormisdas 
Johannes  I. 
Felix  IV. 
Bonifatius  II. 
Johannes  II. 
Agapetus  I. 
Silverius 
Vigil  ius 
Pelagius  I. 
Johannes  III. 
Benedictiis  I. 
Pelagius  II. 
Gregorius  I. 
Sabinianus 
Bonifatius  III. 
Bonifatius  IV. 
Deusdedit 
Bonifatius  V. 
Honorius 
Severinus 
Johannes  IV. 
Theodorus  I. 
Martinus 
Eugenius  I. 
Vitalianus 
Adeodatus 
Donus 
Agatho 
Leo    II. 
Benedictus  II. 
Johannes  V. 
Conon 
Sergius  I. 
Johannes  VI. 
Johannes  VII. 
Sisinnius 
Constantinus  I. 
Gregorius  II. 
Gregorius  III. 
Zacharias 
Stephanus  II. 
Paulus  I. 
Stephanus  III. 
Hadrianus  I. 


LIST   OF   THE   POPES  581 


HadKIAN  I.   TO   Lko  XIH. 
(From  Nibby's  Roma  aniica,  vol.  i.  p.  314.) 
Date  of     Date  of  Name. 

Leo  III.,  Rome. 
.Stephanus  V.,  Koine. 
Paschalis  I.,  Rome. 
Eugeiiius  II.,  Rome. 
Valentiniiti,  Rome. 
Gregorius  IV.,  Rome. 
Sergiiis  II.,  Rome. 
Leo  IV.,  Rome. 
Benedietus  III.,  Rome. 
Xieholaus  I.,  Rome. 
Hadriaiiu.s  II.,  Rome. 
Johaunes  VIII.,  Rome. 
Martimis  II.,  Gallese. 
HadriaiiUf;  III.,  Rome. 
Stei)liaiuis  VI.,  Rome. 
Formosus,  Ustia. 
Bonifatius  VI.,  Tuseauy. 
Stephanus  VII.,  Rome. 
Romanus  I.,  Gallese. 
Theodoras  II.,  Rome, 
.lohaniies  IX.,  Tivoli. 
Benedietus  IV.,  Rome. 
Leo  v.,  Ardea. 
Christophorus,  Rome. 
Sergius  III.,  Rome. 
Anastasius  III.,  Rome. 
Lando,  Sabina. 
.Joliannes  X.,  Ravenna. 
Leo  VI.,  Rome. 
Stephanus  VII.,  Rome. 
Johannes  XL,  Rome. 
Leo  VIL,  Tuseulum. 
Stephanus  VIII.,  (Jermany, 
Martinus  III.,  Rome. 
Agapetus  II.,  Rome. 
Johannes  XIII.,  Tuseulum. 
Benedietus  V.,  Rome. 
Johannes  XIII. ,  Narni. 
Benedietus  VL,  Rome. 
Domnus  II.,  Rome. 
Benedietus  VIL,  Rome. 
Johannes  XIV.,  Pavia. 
Johannes  XV.,  Rome. 


Election. 

Death. 

795 

816 

816 

817 

817 

824 

824 

827 

827 

827 

827 

844 

844 

845 

845 

857 

857 

858 

858 

867 

8«7 

872 

872 

882 

882 

884 

884 

885 

885 

891 

891 

896 

896 

896 

896 

897 

897 

897 

897 

898 

898 

900 

900 

903 

903 

903 

903 

904 

904 

911 

911 

913 

913 

913 

913 

928 

928 

929 

929 

931 

931 

936 

936 

939 

939 

943 

943 

94(; 

946 

956 

956 

964 

964 

965 

965 

972 

972 

974 

974 

975 

975 

983 

983 

985 

985 

906 

582  APPENDIX 


Date  of 

Date  of 

Ebction. 

Death. 

996 

999 

999 

1003 

1003 

1003 

1003 

1009 

1009 

1021 

1021 

1024 

1024 

1033 

1033 

1046 

]04(> 

1047 

1047 

1048 

1048 

1049 

1049 

1055 

1055 

1057 

1057 

1058 

1058 

1061 

1061 

1073 

1073 

1086 

1086 

1088 

1088 

1099 

1099 

1118 

1118 

1119 

1119 

1124 

1124 

1130 

1130 

1143 

1143 

1144 

1144 

1145 

1145 

1150 

1150 

1154 

1154 

1159 

1159 

1181 

1181 

1185 

1185 

1187 

1187 

1187 

1187 

1191 

1191 

1198 

1198 

1210 

1216 

1227 

1227 

1241 

1241 

1243 

1243 

1254 

1254 

1261 

1261 

1264 

1264 

1271 

1271 

1276 

1276 

1276 

1276 

1276 

Name. 
Gregorius  V.  (Bruno),  Saxony. 
Silvester  H.  (Gerbert),  Auvergne. 
Johannes  XVI.,  Rome. 
Johannes  XVII.,  Home. 
Scrgius  IV.,  Rome. 
Beuedictus  VIII.,  Tusculum. 
Johannes  XVIII.,  Tusculum. 
Benedictus  IX.,  Tusculum. 
Gregorius  VI.,  Rome. 
Clemens  II.  (Snidger),  Saxony. 
Damasus  II.  (Boppa)  Bavaria. 
Leo  IX.  (Bruno),  Alsace. 
Victor  II.  (Gebhard),  Bavaria. 
Stephanus  X.,  Lorraine. 
Nicliolaus  II.  (Gerard),  Burgundy. 
Alexander  II.  (Badagio),  Milan. 
Gregorius  VII.  (Hildebrand  or  Aldobraudeschi),  Soana, 

Tuscany. 
Victor  III.  (Epifani),  Benevento. 
Urbanus  II.,  Reims. 
Paschalis  II.,  Bieda. 
Gelasius  II.  (Giovanni  Caetani),  Gaeta. 
Calixtus  II.,  Burgundy. 
Honorius  II.,  Bologna, 
lunocentius  (Papareschi),  Rome. 
Ga^lestinus  II.,  Cittii  di  Castello. 
Lucius  II.,  Bologna. 
Eugenius  III.  (Paganelli),  Pisa. 
Anastasius  IV.,  Rome. 
Hadrianus     IV.     (Nicholas     Breakspeare),    Langley, 

England. 
Alexander  III.  (Bandinelli),  Siena. 
Lucius  III.,  Lucca. 
Urbanus  III.  ((Jrivelli),  Milan. 
Gregorius  VIII.  (Di  Morra),  Benevento. 
Clemens  III.  (Scolari),  Rome. 
Cielestinus  III.  (Buboni),  Rome. 
Innocentius  III.  (Conti),  Anagni. 
Honorius  III.  (Savelli),  Rome. 
Gregorius  IX.  (Conti),  Anagni. 
Cielestinus  IV.  (Castiglioni),  Milan. 
Innocentius  IV.  (Fieschi),  Genoa. 
Alexander  IV.  (Conti),  Anagni. 
Urbanus  IV.  (Pantaleo),  Troyes. 
Clemens  IV.  (Foucauld),  Narbonne. 
Gregorius  X.  (Visconti),  Piacenza. 
Innocentius  V.,  Savoy. 
Hadrianus  V.  (Fieschi),  Genoa. 


LIST   OF   THE   POPES  583 


Johannes  XIX.  or  XX.  or  XXI.  (Giuliano),  Lisbon. 
Xicholaus  III.  (Orsini),  Rome. 
Martinus  IV.,  Champagne,  Montpiti^. 
Honorius  IV.  (Savelli),  Rome. 
Nicholaus  IV.  (Masci),  Ascoli. 
Ciclesthius  V.  (Pietro  da  Morrone),  Isernia. 
Bonifatius  VIII.  (Benedetto  Caetani),  Anagni. 
Benedictus  XI.  (Boccasini),  Treviso. 
Clemens  V.  (de  Goiith),  Bordeaux. 
Johannes  XXII.  (Jacques  d'Euse),  Cahors. 
Benedictus  XII.  (Jacques  Fournier),  Foix. 
Clemens  VI.  (Pierre  Roger  de  Beaufort),  Limoges, 
lunocentius  VI.  (F.tienne  Aubert),  Limoges. 
Urbanus  V.  (Guillaume  de  Grimoard),  Mende. 
Gregorius  XI.  (Roger  de  Beaufort),  Limoges. 
Urbanus  VI.  (Bartolommeo  Prignani),  Naples. 
Bonifatius  IX.  (Pietro  Tomacelli),  Naples. 
Innocentius  VII.  (Migliorati),  Sulmona. 
Gregorius  XII.  (Angelo  Correr),  Venice. 
Alexander  V.  (Petrus  Phylargius),  Candia. 
Johannes  XXIII.  (Baldassare  Cossa),  Naples. 
;\[artinus  V.  (Oddone  Colonna),  Rome. 
Eugenius  IV.  ((ialjriele  Condolmiere),  Venice. 
Nicholaus  V.  (Tommaso  Parentucelli),  Sarzana. 
Calixtus  III.  (Alfonso  Borgia),  Valencia. 
Pius  II.  (^Eneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini),  Pienza. 
Paulus  II.  (Pietro  Barbo),  Venice. 
Sixtus  IV.  (Francesco  della  Rovere),  Savona. 
Innocentius  VIII.  (Giovanni  Battista  Cibo),  Genoa. 
Alexander  VI.  (Roderigo  Lenzoli  Borgia),  Spain. 
Pius  III.  (Antonio  Todeschini  Piccolomini),  Siena. 
Julius  II.  ((Jiuliano  deila  Rovere),  Savona. 
Leo  X.  (Giovanni  de'  Medici),  Florence. 
Hadrianus  VI.  (Adrian  Florent),  LTtrecht. 
Clemens  VII.  (Giulio  de'  Medici),  Florence. 
Paulus  III.  (Alessandro  Farnese),  Rome. 
Julius  III.  (Giovanni  Maria  Ciocchi  del  Monte),  Rome. 
Marcellus  II.  (Marcello  Cervini),  Montepulciano. 
Paulus  IV.  (Giovanni  Pietro  Caraffa),  Naples. 
Pius  IV.  ((liovanni  Angelo  de'  Medici),  Milan. 
Pius  V.  (IMichele  Ghislieri),  Bosco  Ligure. 
Gregorius  XIII.  (Ugo  Boncompagni),  Bologna. 
Sixtus  V.  (Felice  Peretti),  Montalto. 
Urbanus  VII.  (Giovanni  Battista  Castagna),  Rome. 
Gregorius  XIV.  (Nicolo  Sfrondati),  Cremona. 
Innocentius     IX.      (Giovanni     Antonio     Facchinetti), 
Bologna. 
1592  1605  Clemens  VIII.  (Ippolito  Aldobrandiui),  Fano. 


Date  of 

Date  of 

Election. 

Death. 

127(5 

1277 

1277 

1281 

1281 

1285 

1285 

1287 

1287 

1292 

1292 

1294 

1294 

1303 

130.3 

1305 

1305 

1316 

1316 

1334 

1334 

1342 

1342 

13.52 

13.52 

1362 

1362 

1370 

1370 

1378 

1378 

1389 

1389 

1404 

1404 

1406 

1406 

1409 

1409 

1410 

1410 

1417 

1417 

1431 

1431 

1447 

1447 

1455 

14.55 

1458 

1458 

1464 

1464 

1471 

1471 

1484 

1484 

1492 

1492 

1503 

1503 

1503 

1503 

1513 

1513 

1522 

1522 

1523 

1.523 

1534 

1534 

15.50 

15.50 

15.55 

1.5.55 

1.555 

1555 

15.59 

1559 

1566 

1566 

1572 

1572 

1.585 

1585 

1590 

1590 

1.590 

1590 

1.591 

1591 

1.592 

584  APPENDIX 


Date  of 

Date  of 

Election. 

Death. 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1621 

1621 

1623 

1623 

1644 

1644 

1655 

1655 

1667 

1667 

1070 

1670 

1676 

1676 

1689 

1689 

1691 

]691 

1700 

1700 

1721 

1721 

1724 

1724 

1730 

1730 

nio 

1740 

1758 

1758 

1769 

1769 

1775 

1775 

1800 

1800 

1823 

1823 

1829 

1829 

1831 

1831 

1846 

1846 

1878 

1878 

Name. 

Leo  XI.  (Alcssandro  Ottaviaiio  de'  Medici),  Florence. 
Paulus  V.  (Camillo  Burghese),  Kome. 
Gregorius  XV.  (Alessaudro  Ludovisi),  Bologna.  . 
Uibaiuis  VIII.  (Matteo  Barberiui),  Florence. 
Innocentius  X.  (Giovanni  Battista  Pamtili),  Rome. 
Alexander  VII.  (Fabio  Cliigi),  Siena. 
Clemens  IX.  (Giulio  Kospigliosi),  Pistoja. 
Clemens  X.  (Giovanni  Battista  Altieri),  liome. 
Innocentius  XI.  (Benedetto  Odescalchi),  Como. 
Alexander  VIII.  (Pietro  Ottoboni),  Venice. 
Innocentius  XII.  (Antonio  Pignatelli),  Naples. 
Clemens  XI.  (Giovanni  Francesco  Albani),  Urbino. 
Innocentius  XIII.  (Michelangelo  Conti),  Rome. 
Benedictus  XIII.  (Pietro  Francesco  Orsini),  Rome. 
Clemens  XII.  (Lorenzo  Corsini),  Florence. 
Benedictus  XIV.  (Prospero  Lambertini),  Bologna. 
Clemens  XIII.  (Carlo  Rezzonico),  Venice. 
Clemens  XIV.  (Lorenzo  Francesco  Ganganelli),  S.  An- 

gelo  in  Vado. 
Pius  VI.  (Angelo  Braschi),  Cesena. 
Pius  VII.  (Gregorio  Barnaba  Ciiiaramonti),  Cesena. 
Leo  XII.  (Annibale  della  Genga),  Spoleto. 
Pius  VIII.  (Francesco  Saverio  Castiglioni),  Cingoli. 
Gregorius  XVI.  (Manro  Cappellarij,  Belluno. 
Pius  IX.  (Giovanni  Maria  Mastai-Ferretti),  Siuigaglia. 
Leo  XIII.  ((iioachino  Pecci),  Carpineto. 


E.  Alphabetical  List  of  Painteks,  Sculptors,  and  Archi- 
tects   MEXTIONED    IX    THIS    BoOK. 

PAINTERS. 

Albani,  Francesco,  of  Bologna      .         .         .         .         .         .         .  1578-1660 

Alberti,  Clierubino 1.552-1615 

Alberti,  Giovanni 15.58-1601 

Allegri,  Antonio  da  Correggio 14!)4-1534 

Barbieri,  Gio.  Francesco  da  Cento          ......  1590-16(16 

Battoni,  Pomjieo,  of  Lucca 1708-1787 

Berettini,  Pietro  da  Cortona 1596-1669 

Bril,  Paul,  of  Antwerp 1556-1626 

Buonarroti,  INIiclielangelo                1474-1564 

Caldari,  Polidoro,  da  Caravaggio 1495-1542 

Caliari,  Paolo,  Veronese 1532-1588 

Caracci,  Agostino,  of  Bologna          .......  1558-1601 

Cesari,  Giuseppe,  of  Arpino           .......  1-560-1640 

Clovio,  Giulio,  of  Grisone,  Croatia            ......  1498-1578 

Duguet,  Gaspard  (Poussin)    .....        o.         .  1613-1675 


LIST   OF  PAINTERS,  SCDLFTORS,  AND   ARCHITECTS      585 

Gelee,  Claude,  called  Lorraine 1600-1682 

Giotto  di  Bondone,  of  Vespiguauo 1276-1336 

Periizzi,  Baldassare,  of  Siena .  1480-1536 

Pierin  del  Vaga  (Buonaccorsi) 1500-1547 

Pinturicchio,  Bernardino,  of  Perugia 1454-1513 

Piombo,  Sebastiano  del  (Luciano),  of  Venice       ....  1485-1547 

Pippi,  Giulio,  of  Konie 149-2-1546 

Poussin,  Niccolo,  of  Andelys 1574-1665 

Keni,  Guido,  of  Bologna 1575-1642 

Kicciarelli,  Daniele  da  Volterra 1500-1557 

Roncalli,  Cristoforo  delle  Pomarance 1553-1626 

Rosa,  Salvatore,  of  Nai>les 1615-1673 

Sanzio,  Raft'aele,  of  Urbino 1483-1520 

Sarto,  Andrea  del  (Vanucchi),  of  Florence           ....  1488-1530 

Van  Dyck,  Antonio,  of  Antwerp 1509-1641 

Vanni,  Francesco,  of  8iena       .       .                 1565-1609 

Vasari,  Giorgio,  of  Arezzo 1512-1574 

Vecellio,  Tiziano  (Cadore) 1477-1576 

Venusti,  Marcello,  of  Mantova 1580 

Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  Tuscan 1452-1519 

Zanipieri,  Domenico,  of  Bologna 1581-1641 

Zuccari,  Federico,  of  Urbino 1543-1609 

Zuccari,  Taddeo,  of  Urbino 1529-1566 

SCULPTORS. 

Algardi,  Alessandro,  of  Bologna 1602-1654 

Bernini,  (iio.  Lorenzo 1598-1680 

Buonarroti,  Michelangelo,  Florentine 1474-1564 

Canova,  Antonio,  of  Possagno 1757-1822 

Cellini,  Benvenuto,  Florentine 1500-1570 

Cordieri,  Niccolo    .             1612 

Donatello  (Donato  Bardi),  Florentine 1466 

Ferrata,  Ercole,  of  Pelsotto 1610-1686 

Gros,  Pietro  le,  of  Paris 1666-1719 

Houdon,  of  Paris 1740-1820 

Lorenzo  detto  il  Lorenzetto,  Florentine IS'^O 

Oliviero,  Pietro  Paolo,  Roman 1551-1599 

Porta,  Gugliolmo  dclla,  Milanese 

Porta,  Gio.  Battista  della,  Milanese 1542-1597 

Quesnov,  Francesco,  Belgian 1594-1643 

Sanzio,"  Raffaelle,  of  Urbino 1483-1520 

Vacca,  Flaminio,  Roman 1600 

ARCHITECTS. 

Alberti,  Leon  Battista,  F'lorentine 1392- 

Algardi,  Alessandro,  of  Bologna                1602-1654 

Ammanati,  Bartolommeo,  Florentine 1511-1586 

Barozzi,  Giacomo,  of  Vignola 1507-1573 


586  APPENDIX 

Berettini,  Pietro,  of  Cortona 1596-1669 

Bernini,  Gio.  Lorenzo 1598-1680 

Bibblena,  Galli  Francesco,  of  Bologna 1659-1739 

Borromini,  Francesco,  of  Bissone  1599-1667 

Buonarroti,  Michelangelo,  Florentine 1474-156-4 

Desgodetz,  Antonio,  of  Paris 1653-1728 

Fontana,  Carlo,  of  Bruciato 1634-1714 

Fontana,  Donienico,  of  Mill 1543-1607 

Fuga,  Ferdinando,  Florentine 1699-1780 

Galilei,  Alessandro,  Florentine 1691-1737 

Giamberti,  Giuliano,  Sangallo  il  Vecchio 1443-1517 

Giocondo,  fr.,  of  Verona 1435- 

Lazzari,  Braniante,  of  Urbiuo 1444-1514 

Ligorio,  Pirro,  Neapolitan  .        . 1580 

Liinghi,  Onorio,  ^lilanese 1569-1619 

Maderno,  Carlo,  of  Bissone 1556-1629 

Maiano,  Giuliano  da,  Florentine 1407-1477 

Olivieri,  Pietro  Paolo,  Roman 1551-1599 

Palladio,  Andrea,  of  Vicenza 1518-1580 

Peruzzi,  Baldassare,  of  Siena 1481-1536 

Picconi,  Antonio,  da  Sangallo 1546- 

Pintelli,  Baccio,  Florentine 1420-1480 

Ponzio,  Flaminio,  Lombard 1555-1610 

Porta,  Giacomo  della,  Roman 1539-1604 

Posi,  Paolo,  of  Siena 1708-1776 

Rainaldi,  Carlo,  Roman 1611-1691 

Sanzio,  Raffaelle,  of  Urbino 1483-1520 

Serlio,  Sebastiano,  of  Bologna 1552 

Vanvitelli,  Luigi,  Roman 1700-1773 

F.  Roman  Coins. 

Copper  Coinage  of  the  Republic. 

For  nearlj'  five  hundred  years  after  the  foundation  of  the  city  the  Romans 
coined  no  metal  except  copper.  If  any  gold  or  silver  pieces  were  in  circula- 
tion, they  must  have  been  of  foreign  stamp. 

The  ordinary  copper  coins  of  the  Republic  were  six' in  number,  each  being 
distinguished  by  a  particular  device,  which  is  preserved  with  almost  perfect 
uniformity.     The  names  of  these  coins  were  :  — 

On  the  Obverse 
a  Head  of 

1.  As Tanus. 

2.  Semis,  the  half  As Jupiter. 

3.  Triens,  one  third  of  tlie  As         ....         .      Minerva. 

4.  Quadrans,  the  quarter  As Hercules. 

5.  Sextans,  the  half  Triens Mercury'. 

6.  Uncia,  one  twelfth  of  the  As Minerva. 

The  device  on  the  reverse  is  the  same  in  all,  being  a  rude  representation  of 


ROMAN   COINS  587 

the  prow  of  a  ship.  On  the  As  we  find  tlie  numeral  I,  on  the  Semis  the  Let- 
ter S,  while  on  the  rest  round  dots  indicate  the  number  of  Unci:e  ;  thus  the 
Triens  is  marked  oooo,  the  Quadrans  ooo,  the  Sextans  oo,  the  Uncia  o. 
Many  of  them  have  the  word  koma,  and  it  gradually  became  common  for  the 
magistrate  under  whose  inspection  they  were  struck  to  add  his  name. 

Silver  Coinage. 

According  to  Pliny,  silver  was  first  coined  at  Rome  in  269  b.  c,  five  years 
before  the  commencement  of  the  first  Punic  War,  in  pieces  of  three  denomi- 
nations :  — 

1.  The  Denarius,  ecjuivalent  to  10  Asses. 

2.  The  Quinarius         "       "        5       " 

3.  The  Sestertius  "       "        21" 

But  when  the  weight  of  the  As  was  reduced  in  217  b.  c.  to  one  ounce,  it 
was  ordained  at  the  same  time  that  — 

The  Denarius  should  be  equivalent  to  16  Asses. 
The  Quinarius  "  "  8     " 

The  Sestertius  "  "  4     " 

and  this  relation  subsisted  ever  after  between  the  silver  coins  bearing  the 
above  names  and  the  As. 

The  Denarius  and  the  Quinarius  continued  to  be  the  ordinary  silver  cur- 
rency down  to  the  age  of  Septiniius  Severus  and  his  sons,  by  whom  pieces 
composed  of  a  base  alloy  were  introduced,  and  for  several  reigns  entireh^  su- 
perseded the  pure  metal. 

Gold  Coinage. 

Pliny  asserts  that  gold  was  first  coined  in  207  b.  c,  and  a  few  pieces  are 
still  extant  which  correspond  with  his  description,  but  they  are  now  gener- 
ally regarded  as  having  been  struck  in  Magna  Grwcia.  The  number  of  gold 
coins,  undoubtedly  Roman,  belonging  to  the  Republican  period  is  so  small  that 
the  best  numismatists  are  of  opinion  that  this  metal  did  not  form  part  of  the 
ordinary  and  regular  currency  until  the  age  of  Julius  Ca;sar,  the  want  having 
been  supplied  by  Greek  Philippi.  The  principal  gold  coin  of  the  Empire 
was  the  Denarius  Aureus,  which  is  genei'ally  termed  simply  Aureus,  but  by 
I'liny  uniformly  Denarius.  The  Denarius  Aureus  always  passed  for  25  silver 
Denarii.     Half  Aurei  were  also  minted,  but  these  are  comparatively  rare. 

Comparison  of  Roman  with  American  Money. 

According  to  accurate  calculations,  based  upon  the  weight  and  assay  of 
the  most  perfect  specimens  of  Denarii,  the  value  of  the  silver  Sestertius  at 
the  close  of  the  Republic  may  be  fixed  at  four  cents.  After  the  reign  of  Au- 
gustus the  coinage  underwent  a  sensible  deterioration,  both  in  weight  and  in 
purity,  and  we  cannot  reckon  the  Sestertius  higher  than  three  and  a  half 
cents  from  the  age  of  Tiberius  down  to  Septimius  Severus.  Taking  the  higher 
value  the  following  table  may  be  useful  in  converting  sums  from  Roman  into 
American  currency  :  — 


588 


APPENDIX 

1  Sestertius 

= 

«  .04 

10  Sestertii 

= 

.40 

100     " 

= 

4.00 

1000     " 

= 

40.00 

10,000     " 

^ 

400.00 

100,000     " 

= 

4000.00 

1,000,000     " 

= 

40,000.00 

10,000,000     " 

= 

400,000.00 

G.   Roman  Measures  of  Length. 


Digitus        .... 
1^  Digiti  =Uncia  or  Pollex 


4 

" 

=  Palmus 

12 

'* 

=  Palnius  Major  (of  late 
times) 

16 

" 

=  Pes      . 

20 

" 

=  Palmipes 

24 

" 

=  Cubitus 

2.V 

Pes 

=  Gradus  or  Pes  Sestertius 

5 

" 

=  Passus  .... 

10 

u 

=  Decempeda  or  Pertica 

120 

" 

=  Actus  (in  length  ). 

5000 

" 

=  Mille  Passuuni 

Decimals  of 
a  Metre. 

Feet. 

Inches. 

.0185 

0 

0.7281 

.0247 

0 

0.9708 

.0740 

0 

2.9124 

.222 

0 

8.7372 

.296 

0 

11.6496 

.370 

1 

2.562 

.444 

1 

5.4744 

.740 

2 

5.124 

1.48 

4 

10.248 

2.96 

9 

8.496 

.3.5..32 

116 

5.952 

1480.00 


4854 


0.000 


A  meti'e  is  39.37  English  inches.     An  English  foot  is  0.3048  metre. 


H.   Roman  Weights. 


Avoirdupois  Weight. 


Grammes. 

Oz. 

6ra. 

Uncia 

27.288 

0 

430.83 i 

\h  UnciaB 

^  Sesuncia  or  Sescunx     . 

.     40.932 

1 

203.75 

2 

^=  Sextans      .... 

54.576 

1 

404.10  f 

3 

=  Quadrans  or  Teruncius 

.     81.864 

2 

108.75 

4 

=  Triens         .... 

.       ]  09. 152 

3 

270.83J 

5         ' 

==  Quincunx 

.  136.440 

4 

354.161 

6 

=  Semis  or  Semissis 

.       163.728 

5 

337.5 

7 

=  Septunx 

.  191.016 

6 

320. 33 J 

8 

=  Bes  or  Bessis 

.       218.304 

7 

104.16§ 

9 

=  Dodrans 

.  245.592 

8 

277.5 

10 

=  Dextans    .... 

.      272.880 

9 

270.83i 

11 

=  Ueunx   .... 

.  300.168 

10 

260.83i 

12 

=  As  or  Libra 

.      327.456 

11 

237.5 

LIST   OF   ANCIENT   MARBLES  589 


I.    The  Romax  Calendar. 

At  the  period  when  Julius  Ctesar  attained  to  supreme  power  the  Calendar 
liad  fallen  into  great  confusion.  The  Dictator,  therefore,  resolved  to  reform 
the  whole  system,  and  being  himself  versed  in  astronomy,  with  the  aid  of 
Sosigeues,  a  peripatetic  philosopher  of  Alexandria,  introduced,  45  e.  c,  that 
division  of  time  which,  with  a  few  modifications,  is  still  employed  by  all 
Christian  nations,  and  received  from  its  author  the  name  of  the  Julian  year. 

The  solar  year,  or  the  period  between  two  vernal  eijuinoxes,  was  supposed 
to  contain  Z?>o^  days  ;  but  to  prevent  the  inconvenience  which  would  have 
arisen  from  the  use  of  fractional  parts,  three  years  out  of  four  were  regarded 
as  consisting  of  -365  days,  while  every  fourth  j'ear  had  Mi\. 

The  3'ear  had  been  of  old  divided  into  twelve  months.  This  number  and 
the  ancient  names  were  retained,  but  the  distriI)ution  of  the  days  was  changed. 
By  the  new  arrangement  Januarius,  the  first  month,  had  31  days,  Februarius 
28  in  ordinary  years,  and  every  fourth  year  29,  Martius  31,  Aprilis  30,  Mains 
31,  Junius  30,  Quintilis  31,  Sextilis  31,  September  30,  October  31,  November 
30,  December  31. 

Julius  C;esar  retained  also  the  ancient  divisions  of  the  month  by  Calendae, 
Nonne,  and  Idus.  The  CalendiV  fell  uniformly  on  the  first  day  of  each  month; 
the  Idus  on  the  13th,  except  in  JIarch,  ila}',  July,  and  October,  when  they 
fell  on  the  15th  ;  the  Nona;  were  always  eight  (according  to  the  Roman  com- 
putation nine)  days  before  the  Idus,  and  therefore  on  the  5th,  except  in  March, 
May,  July,  and  October,  when  they  fell  on  the  Ttli. 

When  an  event  did  not  happen  exactly  on  the  Calends,  Nones,  or  Ides  of 
any  month,  the  day  was  calculated  by  reckoning  backwards  from  the  next 
division  of  the  month.  Thus,  if  it  happened  between  the  Calends  and  the 
Nones,  it  was  said  to  take  place  so  many  days  l)eforc  the  Nones  ;  if  it  hap- 
pened between  the  Nones  and  the  Ides,  it  was  said  to  take  place  so  many  days 
before  the  Ides  ;  if  it  happened  after  the  Ides,  it  was  said  to  take  place  so 
many  days  before  the  Calends  of  the  ensuing  month. 

In  the  second  place,  these    computations  always  included    the    day  from 
which  the    reckoning  was  made,   as  well  as  the  day  to  which  it  extended. 
Tluis  the  3d  of  .January  was  called  the  third  day  before  the  Nones  of  January, 
the  10th  of  March  the  sixth  day  before  the  Ides  of  March,  the  14th  of  Jun 
the  eighteenth  dav  before  the  Calends  of  July. 


J.   A  List  of  Axciext  Marbles. 

(From  H.  W.  Pulleu's  Handbook  of  Roman  Marbles.     Loudon,  1894.) 

I.   Whitk  or  Statuary  Marbles. 

Modern  Name.  Ancient  Name.                     Quarries. 

Pario  (grcco  duro)  Marmor  parium  Island  of  Paros 

Porino  (grechetto  duro)  "         porium  Neighborhood  of  Olympia 

Pentelico  (greco  fino)  "         pentelicum  ^Inunt  Pentelikos 

Tasio  (greco  livido)  '•         thasium  Island  of  Thasos 

Lunense  (carrara  antico)  "         lunense  Fantiscritti,  Carrara 

Imezio  (greco  rigato)  "         hymettium  !Mount  Hvmettus 

Palombino  "  '      coraliticum  Coralio,  Plnygia 


590 


APPENDIX 


Modem  Name. 
Bianco  e  iiero 
Nero  antico 
Bigio 

"        lumacliellato 

"        venato 

"        morato 
Bardiglio 
Giallo  antico 

"        e  nero  antico 
Rosso  antico 

III. 

Cipollino 

"        verde 

"        rosso 

"        mandolato 
Cottanello 
Fior  di  persico 
Pavonazzetto 
Porta  santa 


Lumachella 
Astracane 
Broccatello 
Occhio  di  pavone 


Br.  di  Aleppo 

"  "   Villa  Casali 

"  dorata 

"  traccagnina 

"  Quintilina 

"  rossa  brecciata 

"  Serravezza 

"  d'  Egitto 

"  corallina 

"  Sette  Basi 

"  Semesanto 

"  Africana 


II.  Colored  Marbles. 

Ancient  Name.  Quarries. 

M.  proconnesiiun        Procomiesos 
"   la?narium  Tajnarum,  Laconia 

"   batthium  Probably  North  Africa 


"   luculleum  Island  of  Melos 

Carrara  and  Massa 
"   nnmidicum  Supposed  in  Numidia,  Algeria 

"  rhodium  Island  of  Rhodes 

"   ta?narium  Tasnarum,  Laconia 

Veined  or  Variegated  Marbles. 

M.  carystium  Eubrea  (Negroponte) 


Pyrenees  and  Cannes 

Moricone  (Sabine  Hills) 

Epirus 

Synnada,  Phrygia 

Island  of  Jasos 


M.  molossium 
"   syunadicum 
"    jassense 


IV.   Shell  Marbles. 


M.  schiston 


Agra  (supposed) 
Tortosa,  Spain 


Bianco 
Fiorito 
A.  giaccione 


V.   Breccie. 

Aleppo 

M.  lydium  Lydia,  Asia  Minor 

Near  Hamamat,  Egypt 

"  cbium  Island  of  Chios 

VI.  Alabasters. 
M.  alabastrum  Egypt 


LIST   OF  ANCIENT  MARBLES 


591 


Modern  Name. 

Ancient  Name. 

Quarries. 

Marino 

Rosa 

Cotognino 

A.  pecorella 

VII.   Miscellaneous. 

Lapislazvili 

Lapis  cyanus 

Scj'thia  and  China 

Malachite 

Molochites 

Arabia,    China,    Sweden, 
Siberia 

Spate  fiuore 

Murrha 

Parthia 

Pietra  di  paragone 

Lapis  lydius 

Lydia 

VIII.    Serpentines. 

S.  commune 

M.  ligusticum 

Liguria 

"  rosso  di  Levanto 

Between  Spezia  and  Chiavari 

"  verde  ranocchio 

Lapis  ophites 

Egypt  and  French  Riviera 

"      "     antico 

"     atracius 

Atrax,  Thessaly 

IX.   Porphyries. 

P.  rosso 

Lapis  porphyrites 

Egypt 

"   pav^onazzo 

"  verde 

"  bigio 

"  nero 

"  serpentino 

"        lacedsemonius 
X.   Granites. 

Laconia,  Peloponnesus 

G. rosso 

Lapis  pyrrhopa'cilus 

Syene  (Assouan) 

"  del  foro 

"     psaronius 

"                " 

"  bigio 

"     syenites 

((                (( 

"  nero 

"      hethiopicus 

Ethiopia 

"  verde 

"  della  sedia 

XI.   Basalts. 

B.  bronzino 

Lapis  basanites 

Ethio])ia 

"   nero 

"  ferrigno 

"  bigio 

"  verde 

INDEXES 


I.    The    Existing    Remains    of    Ancient    Rome    described 

ALPHABETICALLY   IN    ARCHITECTURAL    GrOUPS 

PAGE 

Admiralty,  Neptunium,  Porticus  Argoiiaiitaniin 487 

^ides  deorum,  see  Templa. 

^der  Impevatoria^,  Palace  of  the  Caesars 108 

^dicula",  sacella,  shrines  :  Febris,  on  the  Palatine        .         .         .         .        117 

Larum 39 

Mercurii  Sobrii,  on  the  Cespian     .         .         .         . '       .         .         .        224 

Minerva?,  back  of  the  Augustjeum 122 

Orbona?,  on  the  Palatine        .         • 117 

Vestae,  in  the  Forum 224 

Vestae,  on  the  Palatine 117 

Victorise,  on  the  Palatine 125 

De;e  Viriplaca?,  on  the  Palatine 117 

yErarium  Saturni,  civil  treasurv 292 

Agger  Servii  Tullii  ..." 3:J,  39,  00-60,  116 

Albanus  lapis,  pcperino 34 

Almonis  Hiinien,  Alnione,  Acquataccio,  Marrana  della  Caffarella  .        320 

Amphitheatra:  Castrense,  by  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme         .     72,  77,  3(i9,  385 

Flavium,  Coliseum 367 

(Buildings  connected  with)         .......         383 

Statilianiim,  i\I(mte  Giordano    .......     142,  368 

Antemna; .  59,  110 

Aqiue  Albuja^,  springs,  baths       .......        35,  30,  175 

Acjueducts,  ancient 47 

Alexandrina,  Felice         .         .         .         ...         .         .  51,  56,  58 

Alsietina  (Augusta) 5.3,  56,  58 

Anionis  Novi 50,  51,  54,  56,  58 

Anionis  Yeteris 34,  49,  50-58 

Antoniniana  (Marcia) 49,  58,  540 

Appia  .         . 33,  48,  51,  56-58 

Augusta  (Appia) 48 

Augusta  (]Marcia) -19 

Claudia 50,  51,  53,  50,  58,  72 

Claudia  (Arcus  Ccelimontani) 184 

Herculaneus  rivus,  Fosso  di  Fioggio 54 

.Tovia  (Marcia) 50,  58 

Julia,  Alarrana  ^Mariana 51,  52,  50,  58 

Marcia,  :Marcia  I'ia 34,  49,  51,  54,  56,  58,  72 

of  the  Pahitine  ilill 184 


594  INDEXES 

Aqueducts,  ancient  —  continued. 

Severiana  (Marcia) 49,  58 

Tepula 51-53,  56,  58 

Traiana,  Paola 54,  56,  58 

Virginis,  Vergine 53,  55,  56,  58 

Aqueducts,  modern  :  Acqua  Felice 51,  58 

Acqua  Marcia  Pia 58 

Acqua  Paola 58 

Ac([ua  Vergine,  di  Trevi        ........       58 

Arte,  altars  :  Aii  Locutii  (so  called) 117,  127 

Consi,  in  the  Circus  Maximus 59 

Ditis  et  Proserpinte 447 

Febris,  on  the  Esquiline 6 

Febris,  on  the  Palatine .        .    6,  117 

Febris,  at  the  top  of  Vicus  Longus 6 

Herculis  maxima,  in  the  Forum  Boarium  ....  59 

Martis,  in  the  Campus  Martius 449 

Pacis  Augusts,  in  the  Campus  Martius     .....        466 

Victorise,  on  the  Palatine 125 

Archives  of  the  Cadastre  (Templum  Sacrse  Urbis)  ....        211 

Arcus  Ca;limontani 184 

Arcus,  arches,   triumphal,    ornamental  :    Arcadii,   Honorii,    Theodosii, 

near  the  Vatican  bridge 25,  260 

Augusti,  in  the  Forum 238,  256,  269 

Constantini 191 

Drusi  (so  called),  on  the  Appian  Way 540 

Fabiorum,  on  the  Sacra  Via 215,  238 

Gallieni,  at  the  Esquiline  gate  .  .  .  .  '  .  .  49,  64,  400 
Gordiani  III.,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Praetorian  Camp  .  .  439,  440 
Gratiani,  Valentiniani,  Theodosii,  near  the  yElian  bridge         .  25 

Septimii  Severi,  by  the  Rostra 282 

Septimii  Severi,  in  the  Forum  Boarium     ....        513,  518 

Tiberii,  near  the  Golden  IMilestone 258 

Titi,  on  the  Summa  Sacra  Via 201,  238 

Traiani,  on  the  Appian  Way 191 

Valentiniani  et  Valentis,  by  the  Ponte  Sisto     ....  25 

Arco  di  Latrone 205 

Arco  di  Portogallo 504 

Ardea 112 

Arese,  squares,  piazze  :  Apollinis,  on  the  Palatine  ....        141 

Capitolina 296 

Concordiffi 287 

Flacciana,  on  the  Palatine 117 

Palatina 546 

Saturni 292 

Volkani 287 

Argiletum 264,  388 

Armamentarium 386 

Arx,  citadel  on  the  Capitoline  Hill     . 126 

Atria,  courts  :  Libertatis,  on  the  Aventine 142 


INDEXES  595 

Atria  —  continued. 

Miiierv£e,  by  the  Senate  House 2t>3 

Vestae     .     ' 40,  9tj,  104,  ISt!,  171,  174,  189,  226 

Aventinus  mons       . 1,  3 

Balinea?,  Balnea,  baths  :  Heliugabali 198 

Liviie  (so  called) 162 

X;vratii  Cerialis,  on  the  Es<[iuline 102 

Balneum  Imperatoris,  on  the  Palatine 108,  181 

Barracks,  see  Castra. 

Basilica?,  law-courts  :  Jimilia 235 


46,  204 

235 

121,  137,  188,  236,  242,  254,  257,  273 
487 

235 

235,  263 

235 

314 


Constantini 

Fulvia      .... 
Julia 

Neptuui  (so  called) . 
Opimia 

Porcia      .... 
Semprouia. 

Ulpia        .... 
Baths,  see  Baline;v,  Thernia-. 
BibliotheciV,  libraries  :  Ajjollinis,  on  the  Palatine  ....         140 

Porticus  Octaviii' 469 

Thermarum  Diocletiani 317 

Tiberiana,  on  tlie  Palatine 146 

Ulpia 316 

Brick-kilns 40 

Bricks,  Teguhe,  see  Building  materials.  " 
Bridges,  see  Pontes. 

Building  materials 32 

La])is  Albanus,  peperino 30,  .32,  34 

Lapis  Gabinus,  sperone .30,-32 

Lapis  ruber,  tufa    .........  32-34 

Lapis  Tiburtinus,  travertino 32,  35 

Marbles 42 

Silex,  seke 32,  38 

Tegula?,  bricks 38 

liurial  of  Rome 98 

Caballus  Constantini,  etiuestrian  statue  of  Constantine     .         .         .     249,  258 

( 'adius  mons 335 

( 'iclioliis  mons      ............     335 

Canipi,  commons  :  Agrippie,  in  the  seventh  region        ....         471 

Equirriorum,  in  the  Campus  Martins 450 

Martins 442,  448 

Capitoliuni,  see  Templuni  .lovis  Optimi  Maximi. 

Capitolium  Yetus 60 

Career  Tullianum,  Mamertine  prison 285 

L'asa?,  huts  :  at  Antemna? Ill 

Caci,  near  the  Ara  ^laxiina 129,  130 

Romuli,  Tugurium  Faustuli 112,  129-131 

Romuli,  on  the  Capitoline  .         .         .         ...        .         .  131 

Tarquiniorum,  near  the  Porta  Mugonia 117 


596 


INDEXES 


Castra,  barracks  :  Eqiiitum  Sintrulariiim,  near  the  Lateran 

Friniieiitarium,  cm  the  C;eliaii        ..... 

Misenatiuiii,  of  marines,  near  the  Coliseum     . 

Peregrinorum,  of  detective  police,  on  the  Cielian 

Prietoria,  of  the  guards  ....        40,  45,  70, 

Silicariorum,  of  roadmakers      ...... 

Vigilum,  of  firemen,  see  Stationes. 
Cemeteries  :  Escjuiline  prehistoric 

Esquiline  republican 

of  the  Via  Appia 

of  the  Via  Latina 

of  tlie  Via  Pinciana  (Salaria  Vetus) 

of  the  Via  Salaria  Nova     ..... 

of  the  Via  Triumphalis 

ad  Spem  Veterem,  near  the  Porta  Maggiore 
Chapels,  (,'hristian  :  of  Felicitas,  near  the  Baths  of  Trajan 

of  the  Seven  Sleepers,  Vigna  Pallavicini 

of  S.  Laurenti,  in  Fonte 

Circi  :  Haminius       ........ 

Gaianus,  in  the  gardens  of  Agrippina  . 

Hadriani  (?),  in  the  gardens  of  Domitia    . 

Maximus         ........ 

Varianus,  in  the  gardens  of  Heliogabalus 
Citadel,  see  Arx. 

Civitas  Figlina,  on  the  Via  Salaria      ..... 
Climate 


3.36,  340 

.  337 

387 

.  336 

72,  75,  437 

38 


550, 


441. 


100 
409 
321 
321 
100 
100 
557 
104 
362 
335 
393 
450 
548 
550 
i,  91 
395 

42 


Clivi,  steep  streets,  ascents  :  Argentarius,  Salita  di  Marforio     ...      87 

Capitolinus 289 

Martis,  on  the  Appian  Way 99 

Patricius        ..." 390 

Publicius,  Salita  di  S.  Sabina 48,  541 

Sacer 194,  207,  238 

Suburanus,  Salita  di  S.  Lucia  in  Selce 389 

Victoria; 119,  120,  125,  146,  152,  154 

Cloaca!,  sewers,  drains 28 

of  the  Campus  Martins 29 

of  the  Circus  Flaminins 30 

Maxima 15,  29-31,  35,  124,  244 

Collatia,  Lunghczza 112 

Colles,  hills  :  Hortorum,  Pincian 1,  3 

Quirinalis 1,  3,  6,  61,  63,  103 

Viminalis 1, 3 

Colossi,  colossal  statues  of  Nero  (of  the  Sun) 190 

Columbaria  :  HylaB  et  Vitalinis,  in  the  Vigna  Sassi  ....     327 

cooperative,  in  the  Vigna  Codini        ......        328 

by  the  Porta  Maggiore 403 

Coliunnse,  monumental  columns  :  Divi  (Antonini)  Pii    ....        508 

Divi  Marci  (Aurelii) 505 

Phoca; 260 

Rostrata,  C.  Duilii 254 


INDEXES  597 

Columnse  —  continued. 

Traiani 317 

iiiomimental,  on  tlie  Sacra  Via 258 

of  S.  Maria  Maggiorc,  from  Constantiue's  Basilica  .         .         204 

Comitium 258,  263,  265 

('onstruction,  Methods  of 43 

Corniculum,  Moiitioelli 5 

( 'ourts,  see  Atria. 

<  rypta  Balbi 495 

( 'urite,  halls  of  meeting  :  Athletarum,  near  the  Baths  of  Trajan       .  387 

Hostilia,  Julia,  Senatus,  Senate-House  .  43,46,  137,  233,  262 

Pompeiani  theatri .        459 

Curije  Veteres 60 

Diajtaj   Mammiciana\  a  wing  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  built  by  Julia 

jMamnuva '   .         ,         108 

Diribitoriuiu  ............    471 

Docks,  warehouses,  see  Horrea. 

Domus,  palaces  :  M.  vEmilii  Scaiiri,  on  the  Palatine      ....        118 
Anniae  corniticiip,  Vigna  Maciocchi,  on  the  Aventine     .        .        .48 

Anniorum,  on  the  Ca?lian 344 

Augustaua,  on  the  Palatine 107,  110,  138,  184 

Augusti,  ad  Capita  Bubula,  on  the  Palatine  .  .  .  118,  138 
Aurea  Xeronis,  on  the  0])pian       ....     vi,  x,  116,  190,  358 

Avidiorum,  on  the  Quirinal 101 

A.  Ca^cinse  Largi,  on  the  Palatine 117 

Caligula?,  on  the  Palatine 107,  146,  150 

Catuli,  on  the  Palatine 117 

M.  Cicoronis,  on  tlie  Palatine 118 

Q.  Ciccronis,  on  the  Palatine  118 

Cilonis,  at  S.  Balbina 540 

Claudiorum,  on  the  Quirinal 101 

Clodii,  on  the  Palatine 118 

L.  Cornelii  Sisenna,  on  the  Palatine 117 

M.  Crassi,  on  the  Palatine 117 

L.  Cropereii  Rogati;  on  the  Cespian       ......   394 

in  the  Farnesina  Gardens 15 

Flaviorum,  o'lKla  Ao/neriafoO,  on  the  Palatine  ....     109,  155 

M.  Fulvi    Flacci,  on  the  Palatine 117 

Gai  Marii  Pudentis  Corneliani,  on  the  Aventine  ....  .540 
Gelotiana,  near  the  Circus  Maxinuis  ....  121,  126,  185 
Germanici  (Tiberii  Claudii  Neronis),  on  the  Palatine  45,  144,  147,  184 
Gregorii  Magni,  on  the  Cadian        .......   349 

Q.  Hortensii,  on  the  Palatine 118,  138 

.Tohannis  et  Pauli,  on  the  Cielian     .......   348 

Lateranorum  (Sextiorum),  on  the  Cadian  ....        339 

Licinii  Surie 340,  341 

M.  Livii  Drusi,  on  the  Palatine 117 

Q.  Lntatii  Catuli,  on  the  Palatine 117 

C.  Marcii  Censorini,  on  the  Palatine  .....  117 
L.  Marii  Maximi,  on  the  Cselian 346 


598  INDEXES 

Domus  —  continued. 

Philippi,  on  the  Casliaii 346 

Piidentis,  on  the  Viiniual 390 

-Regis  Sacrificuli,  on  the  Sacra  Via 189 

Sallustiana,  in  the  gardens  of  Salliist 414 

Scauri,  ou  the  Palatine 118 

L.  Sergii  Catiliniv,  on  the  Palatine 118 

Sessorianum,  in  the  gardens  of  (HeliogabaUis,  later  of)  Helena       397 

Severiana,  on  the  Palatine 99,  107,  178 

of  the  Sj'mmachi,  on  the  Ca?lian   .......   346 

Tetriforum,  of  Pesuvius  Tetricus,  ou  the  Ca;lian      .         .         .         344 

Tiberiana,  on  the  Palatine 107,  125,  144 

Titi  Imperatoris,  on  the  Oppian 366 

Valeriorum,  on  the  C;eliau 345 

Vectiliana,  on  the  Cslian  .......        344 

Atrium  Vestae,  of  the  Vestals 226 

Vettiana,  of  Vettius  Agoriiis  Praetextatus,  on  the  Esquiline    .        230 

discovered  in  the  Via  Montebello 70 

discovered  by  Azara  in  the  Villa  Montalto         ....         147 
Drains,  see  Cloaciv. 

Emporium,  on  the  harbor  of  the  Tiber 509 

Equi,  equestrian  statues  :  Marci  Aurelii,  at  the  Lateran     ....   343 

Constantini,  in  t)ie  Forum 258 

Domitiani,  in  the  Forum 258 

Traiani,  in  his  Forum 313 

Escubitorium  Vigilum,  guard-house  of  tiremen,  at  the  Monte  de'  Fiori   46,  544 

at  the  Baths  of  Nero 545 

Esquilia',  Esquiline  hill vii 

Fagutalis  mons 335 

Falerii,  S.  Maria  di  Falleri 3,  343 

Fasti  consulares .   221 

Ferries,  see  Traiectus. 

Ficana,  Dragoneello 1,  9 

Ficus  Ruminalis,  in  the  Comitiuni 266 

Fidena',  Villa  Spada 112,  113 

Figlin»,  brick-kilns 40 

Flumina,  rivers  :  Almonis,  Acquataccio,  Marvana  della  Caffarella       .  320 

Nodinus 29 

Petronia 29 

Spinon 29 

Tiber 0 

Pontes,  springs  :  Egeriie,  Vigna  Bettini 4? 

.Tuturnae 124 

Lupercalis,  sorgente  di  S.  Giorgio 129 

Tullianum 285 

Forma  Urbis,  marble  plan  of  the  city 94,  214 

Fornices,  archways  :  Fabiorum,  on  the  Sacra  Via        ....  215 

Arco  di  Basile 376 

Forums,  fora,  public  squares  :  Augustum 236,  302 

Boarium 512 


INDEXES 


599 


Forums  —  continued. 

C'upedinis 

Holitoriuin 441,  458, 

Julium 236, 

Martis 236, 

NerviP,  Trausitor  in 

Pacis 

Palatimim 

Pervium,  Transitorium 

Piscariuiii   ........... 

Romamim  Maguum 232- 

Suariiim 

Traiani 

Transitorium,  Pervium,  Palladium,  Nervae       .... 
Fountains,  see  Fontes. 

Gabii,  Castiglione 112, 

Gabinus  lapis,  sperone 

Gaianuni,  circus  of  Gains  Caligula  in  the  gardens  of  Agrippina   . 
Gardens,  see  Horti. 
Gates,  see  Portie. 

Geology  of  Rome  and  the  Campagna 

Germalus,  Cermalus,  one  of  the  summits  of  the  Palatine       .         .        107, 

Graecostasis,  near  the  Senate-house 237, 

Gregoriopolis,  Ostia  .......... 

Harbors,  see  Portus. 

Heroon  Romuli,  on  the  Sacra  Via 

Hills,  see  Montes,  Colles. 

Hippodromos  Palatii . 

Horologium,  Solarium  August!,  sun-dial  in  the  Campus  Martins 
Horrea,  storehouses,  docks  :  Galbic 

Nerva;,  on  the  Via  Ardeatina 


of  Ostia  and  Portus  Augusti 
Piperataria,  on  the  Clivus  Sacer 
Publiea  Populi  Romani       .... 
Horti,  gardens,  parks  :  Aciliorum,  on  the  Pincian  hill 
Adonea,  on  the  Palatine 
Agrippinae,  in  the  Vatican  district 
Asiniani,  near  the  Baths  of  Caracalla 
Ci«saris,  on  the  -Janiculum      .... 
Calyclanii,  on  the  Esquiline 
Domitiae,  in  the  Prati  di  Castello    . 
Getje,  on  the  Janiculum      .... 
Lamiani  et  Maiani,  on  the  Esquiline 
Liciniani,  on  the  Esquiline 
Lolliani,  on  the  Viminal  .... 

Luculliani,  on  the  Pincian  .... 
Mseceuatiani,  on  the  Esquiline 
Maiani  et  Lamiani,  on  the  Esquiline 
Neronis,  in  the  Prati  di  Castello     . 
Pallantiani,  on  the  Esquiline 


39,  4-5, 
96,  202, 


r<»,  72, 


175, 

108, 


404, 
175, 
86, 
103, 


64, 
103, 


201 
511 
300 
301 
307 
214 
144 
307 
235 
261 
513 
310 
307 

113 
32 

548 


5 

178 

239 

81 

209 

168 
464 
524 
.524 
.523 
238 
523 
419 
165 
548 
533 
546 
405 
551 
548 
406 
400 
412 
419 
409 
406 
560 
vii 


600  INDEXES 

Horti  —  contimted. 

Sallustiani,  on  the  Pincian 72,  413 

Tauriani,  on  the  Esquiline 404 

Variani,  ad  Spem  Vetercni 395 

Vettiani 405 

Hospitium  Adrasti  (the  keeper  of  the  column  of  Marcus  Aurelius)       .        507 

Inundations  of  the  Tiber 10-15 

Insula  Tiberina,  island  of  S.  Bartolomeo 15,  19 

Insulje,  tenement  houses 90,  91,  561 

Bolaniana,  in  the  fourteenth  region 568 

Felicles 99 

Sertoriana,  in  the  eighth  region         ......        568 

Vitaliana,  in  the  third  region 568 

Janiculum 544,  548 

Janus  quadrifrons,  in  the  Forum  Boarium  ......    518 

Labicum,  monte  Conipatri,  Colonna 112 

Lacus,  fontes,  salientes,  fountains 56,  57 

Curtius 124 

Ganymedis 57 

Juturmv 124 

Meta  Sudans 190 

Orphei vii,  57 

Pastorum 57 

Promethei 57 

Scari 57 

Servilius     ...........  57 

Trium  Silanorum  57 

Lakonikon  of  Agrippa 486 

Lapicidinfe,  quarries 32 

LatriniB 30,  31 

LautumiaB,  tufa  quarries  near  the  Career 32 

Law-courts,  see  Basilicae. 
Libraries,  see  BibliotheciB. 

Lorium,  la  Bottaccia,  near  Castel  di  Guido 7 

Ludi,  athletic,  gladiatorial  schools 386 

Liipanaria,  near  the  barracks  of  the  Cselian 339 

Lupercal,  near  S.  Anastasia 129 

Macella,  retail  markets :  Liviss,  on  the  Esquiline vii 

Magnum,  on  the  CiBlian 353 

Malaria 6 

Marble  plan  of  the  city,  see  Forma  Urbis. 

Marbles 42 

Marmorata,  marble  sheds,  under  the  Aventine       .         .       15,  17,  120,  524,  530 

in  the  Campus  Martius 525 

Marshes,  see  Paludes,  Stagna. 

Mausolea  :  Augusti,  in  the  Campus  Martius 461 

Hadriani,  in  the  gardens  of  Domitia     .         .         .         .22,  46,  68,  551 

Meta  Sudans,  near  the  Arch  of  Constantine 190 

Milliarium  aureum        ...........   280 

Montes,  hills  :  Aveutinus 1,  3,  61,  62,  66,  103 


INDEXES  601 

Montes  —  continued. 

(smaller  or  pseudo-Aventinus) 62 

Caelius 1,  fil,  335 

Caeliolus    ••......,..         335 

Capitoliuus 1,  3,  11,  61,  63 

Cespius,  Cispius \ 

Monte  Citorio 4 

Monti  della  Creta       .         .         .        .         .        .         .         .        .    41  42 

Esquilinus 6   62 

Fagutalis '335 

Monte  Giordano 368 

Monte  della  Giustizia 4 

Jauiculum 1,  4,  5,  20,  41 

Monte  Mario,  mons  Vaticanus 4   548 

Oppius 1'  357 

Monte  d'Oro 4   320 

Palatinus 1,  3,  6,  106-187 

Querquetulanus 335 

Superagius 62 

Monte  Testaccio 36   529 

Muri  Urbis,  walls 59 

of  the  Palatine  city 32,  59,  121,  126 

of  the  Capitoline 32 

of  Servius  Tullius 34,  60-66,  88 

Agger  Servii 62 

of  octroi 71 

of  Aurelian  and  Probiis 66 

INIiiro  Torto 74,  423 

of  Honorius     .  68,  72 

Of  Leo  IV.,  Civitas  Leoniana 80,  82,  85 

Corridojo  di  Castello 81 

of  John  VIII.,  .Tohannipolis 83 

of        ?        ,  Laurentiopolis 84 

of  Paul  III.,  Bastione  del  Sangallo 78,  84 

of  Urban  VIII 86 

of  Ostia,  Gregoriopolis 81,  83 

Modern  fortifications 86 

Mnrus  Terreus  Carinarum 60 

Naumachia  Augusti,  Transtiberim 53,  55 

Nyniph:ea:  Alexandri,  on  the  Esquiline vii,  57 

of  the  Horti  Aciliani 424 

of  the  Horti  Liciniani  ........       401 

of  the  Horti  Sallustiani 415 

of  the  Horti  Variani 396 

Obelisci,   obelisks  :   of   Augustus,  in   the   Campus   Martins  (Piazza 

Montecitorio)  .........  464 

of  the  gardens  of  Sallust  (Trinitii  de  Monti)       .         .         .         .415 

of  Insula  Tiberina    ..........    19 

of  the   Mausoleum  of  Augustus  (Quirinal  and  Piazza  dell' 

Esquiline) 462 


602  INDEXES 

Obelisci  —  continued. 

of  the  gardens  of  Varius  Elagabahis  (Pincio)  .         .         .  396 

of  the  Vatican 549 

Odeum  Domitiaui,  near  the  Stadium  in  the  Campus  Martins       ,         .  496 

Oppius  mens 1,  357 

Ostia,  the  harbor  of  Rome 2,  9,  10,  78,  81 

Piedagogium,  in  the  Domus  Gelotiaua,  Palatine 186 

Palaces,  see  Domus. 

Palatium,  Palatinus  mons 59,  102,  110,  129,  178 

Palazzo  Maggiore 140 

Palma  (ad  Palmam,  north  corner  of  the  Forum)  ....  239 

Palndes,  ponds,  marshes  :  Caprse  Palus    .......  1 

Decenniae 1 

Transtiberine 20 

Velabrum 1,  59,  60,  117 

Pantheon 11,  46,  473 

Parks,  see  Horti. 

Peperino         .         .         .         ,        , 34 

Pincius  mons,  Collis  Hortorum,  Hortulorum 1,  4 

Piscinae,  reservoirs .         .         .     53,  57 

of  Antemme Ill,  112 

Aquae  Traianae,  at  Vicarello 56 

of  Domus  Aurea,  Sette  Sale 363 

of  the  Imperial  Palace 185 

Palatii 53,  108,  127 

Piscina  Publica 29,  48 

Plans  of  Rome  (Forma  Urbis),  in  the  Villa  d'Este  at  Tivoli    ...        19 

engraved  on  marble 94^  214 

Plutei,  sculptured,  in  the  Forum 254 

Pomerium,  of  the  Palatine  city    . 60 

Ponds,  see  Paludes,  Stagna. 

Pons  Caligulae  (so  called) 121 

Pontes,  bridges 16 

^lius  (Hadriaui,  S.  Angelo) 22,  82 

^milius  (nitto,  di  S.  Maria) 11,  20 

Agrippa; 21,  443 

Cestius 18 

Fabricius 17 

Neronianus 24 

Sublicius 16 

Valentinianus  ..........      24 

Ponte  delle  Forme  Rotte 51 

Garibaldi 27,  29 

di  S.  Giovanni 51 

dell'  Inferno 51 

Lupo 50 

Population  of  Rome,  ancient .   57,  91,  92 

mediaeval 93 

modern 57,  94 

PortsB,  gates,  of  the  Palatine:  Mugonia Ill 


INDEXES  603 

Portfe  —  continued. 

Komanula  ..........      HI,  121 

Scalis  Caci 129 

of  the  Servian  City 62 

Cselimontana 64 

Capena 48,  04,  87 

Carmentalis 63 

Collina 62,  64 

Esquilina 62,  64 

Flumentaiia 63 

Frontinalis 03 

Nsevia 66 

Navalis 66 

Querquetulana 64 

Ratiimena 63 

Rudusciilana 66 

Salutaris 64 

Sanqualis 64 

Trigemiua 66 

Triumphalis 63 

Viniinaiis        ...........  64 

of  Aurelian  and  lionorius 73 

Appia  (S.  Sebastiaiii)) 73,  77 

Ardeatina 78 

Asinaria,  near  the  Porta  S.  Giovanni 71,  77 

Aurelia  (Pancratiana) 80,  80 

Belisaria  (Pinciana) 74 

Chiusa 75 

Flaminia  (del  Popohi) 71,  73,  74,  77 

Latina 77 

Metroni 77 

Nonientana,  near  the  Porta  Pia 75 

Ostiensis  (S.  Paolo) 73,  78,  84 

Pinciana 74 

Portuensis  (Portese) 72,  80 

Praenestina  (Maggiore) 49,  51,  53,  72,  73,  75 

Salaria  . 71,  73,  74,  78 

Septimiana 80 

S.  Pii'tri  in  Hadrianio  .........     22 

Tilnirtina  (S.  Lorenzo)     .         .         .         51,  69,  72,  73,  75,  78,  84,  100 

of  the  Civitas  Leoniana    . 84 

Angelica,  S.  Peregrin! 82,  83 

S.  Angeli 82,  83 

Saxonum 83 

S.  Petri 82 

in  Tiirrione  (Cavalleggeri) 83,  86 

Porta  della  Donna  (S.  Agnetis) 75 

Porta  Fnrba  (on  the  Via  Tusculana) 54 

Porta  Pia 75 

Porta  S.  (iiiivainii         .........         77 


604  INDEXES 

Porticus,  porticoes 445 

iEmilia,  on  the  harbor 44 

Apollinis,  in  Palatio 138,  140 

Argonautarum  (Neptuni) 35,  487 

Balbi  (Crypta) 142 

Eventus  Boni 445 

Catuli,  on  the  Clivus  Victorias 117,  125,  126 

Deorum  Consentium  ......,,  292 

Margaritaria,  on  the  Clivus  Sacer 207 

Materiani ISO 

Maximje,  in  the  Campus  Martins 445 

Milliariensis,  in  the  gardens  of  Sallust 413 

Octaviae 467 

Philippi 445,  446 

Pompeii 35 

Sajptorum 207,  208 

Tellurensis 513 

Triumphi,  in  tlie  Villa  Publica 471 

Vipsania 207,  208,  470 

in  the  Vicus  Patrieii 391 

Portus,  harbors,  wharves  :  Augusti       .         .         .         •         .         .         .      14,  40 

Licinii  . 510 

Neapolitanus 510 

Ostiae 2,  509,  523,  528 

Traiani 14,  40 

Vinarius .       450,  510 

The  harbor  of  Rome 509 

Posterulae,  posterns  :  dell'  Armata,  on  the  Tiber 26 

Domitia,  on  the  Tiber 26 

by  the  Lateran 77 

of  the  Leonine  city 82,  83 

S.  Martini  Ripetta 11,  26 

by  the  Prsetorian  Camp 74 

diella  Tinta,  on  the  Tiber 26 

Praeneste,  Palestrina 4 

Prata,  fields,  commons  :  Flaminia 441,  449 

Neronis,  Prato  di  Castello 42,  G8 

Pulvinaria,  ad  Circum  Maximum      . 141 

Solis,  on  the  Quirinal 428 

Puticuli,  in  the  Campus  Esquilinus 33,  410 

Quarries,  lapicidinae,  lautumiae 32 

of  Acqua  Acetoso  (silex) 6,  38 

S.  Agnese  (tufa) 6 

Balduina  (clay) 5,  41 

Barco  (travertine) 6,  36 

Borghetto  (silex) 38 

Capitoline  hill  (tufa) 32 

Capo  di  Bove  (silex) 38 

Caprine  (limestone) 5 

Cervara  (tufa) 33 


INDEXES 


605 


Quarries  —  continued. 

Fideiite,  Villa  Spada  (tufa) 126 

Fornaci  (clay) 5,  41 

Gelsomiiio  (clay) 5,  41 

Marino  (peperino) 35 

Monte  Falcone  (silex) 38 

Monte  Verde  (tufa)      . 6,  33 

Monti  della  Greta  (clay) 41 

Monti  Parioli  (travertine) G 

Palatine  hill  (tufa) 32,  132 


Pozzo  Pantaleo  (tufa) 

S.  Saba  (tufa) 

Tre  Fontane  (pozzolana) 

Vigna  Querini  (cappelaccio), 
Querquetulanus  mons,  Cielian 
Quirinalis  collis  .... 

Kegia 

Regiones  urbis 

I.   Porta  Capeua  .... 
II.    Cifilimontium 

III.  Lsis  et  Serapis 

IV.  Sacra  Via    . 
Esquilina          .... 
Alta  Seniita 
Forum  Komanuni 
Circus  Flauiinius 
Palatium 


5,  33 

.    6,  33 

6 

33 

3.35 

.      1,3 

137, 189,  219 


V. 

VI. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 


320 
.       335 

357 
.      388 

394 
.  428 
232-319 
.  440 
106-187 


XII.  and  XIII.   Aventinus 532 

XIV.    Transtiberim 544 

Reservoirs,  see  Piscinae. 

Rip*  Tiberis 12,  13,  34,  62 

Rivers,  see  Flumina. 
Roads,  see  Via?. 

Roma  Quadrata 59 

Rostra,  Julia 268 

Vetera 34,  243,  257,  258,  262,  278 


25 


Ruber  lapis,  tufa 

Sacella,  shrines,  chapels  :  Herculis  (cubantis  ?)  near  the  Horti  Caesaris 

Larum 

Minervse,  post  ^dem  Divi  Augusti 

Strenioe 

Deae  Viriplacae,  on  the  Palatine 

Sacra  Via 

Sacravia  Argeoruni 

Ssepta  .Julia 

Salina?,  salt-warehouses  .... 

Saltisina,  fortified  farm  on  the  Via  Ardeatina 
Samiarum,  near  the  Amphitheatre 

Scalae  Caci 

Scholae,  meeting-halls  :  Gra>ca 

of  Octavia    ...... 


45 


129 


32 

457 

59 

122 

.  189 
117 

188-319 
129 

.  471 
527 
82 
385 
146 
522 
469 


130, 


606  INDEXES 

Scholae  —  continued. 

of  the  Quindecemviri 448 

Xantha,  so-called 281 

Secretarium  Senatus 265 

Senatus,  curia,  senate-house 8,  9 

Septizonium  Seven 108,  109,  156,  181 

Sepulcroe,  tombs  :  Annia  Regilla 46 

Archaic,  on  the  Esquiline    ........  33 

C.  Cestii  (pyramid) 78 

Claudiorum,  so-called.  Via  Flaminia 63 

of  foreign  Christians  in  the  Vigna  Codini      ....  334 

Q.  Haterius           ..........  75 

of  the  Via  Latina 46 

under  the  Horti  Liciniani 403 

C.  Poplicii  Bibuli  (Via  Flaminia) 63 

in  the  quarries  of  Pozzo  Pantal^o 34 

Scipiorum 35,  321 

Semproniorum 64 

of  the  Tibicines 35 

on  the  Via  Cornelia 550 

in  the  Vigna  Cremaschi,  Via  Latina 321 

Sessorium,  Sessorian  palace 44,  397 

Sette  Sale,  Capoccie,  reservoir  of  the  Domus  Aurea   ....  363 
Sewers,  see  CloacsB. 
Shrines,  see  Sacella. 

Silex,  selce 38 

Solarium  Augusti,  Horologiuni     ........  464 

Spinon,  the  river 29 

Spoliarium,  near  the  Amphitheatre 385 

Springs,  see  Pontes. 
Squares,  see  Arete. 

Stabula  quatuor  factiouum  sex 187,  454 

Stadium  :  Domitiani  in  the  Campus  Martins 496 

(so-called)  on  the  Palatine 108,  172,  184 

Stagna,  ponds  :  Agrippje,  in  the  Campus  Martius       ....  56 

Neronis,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Domus  Aurea    ....  369 

Stationes,  public  offices  :  Annonaj 519 

Marmorum 527 

Stationes  Vigilum,  barracks  of  firemen  :  of  Cohors  I.,  Palazzo  Muti  545 

of  Cohors  IV.,  on  the  Aventine 541 

of  Cohors  v.,  on  the  Cslian 338 

Statuae,  statues  :  of  L.  yEmilius  Paullus 216 

of  Atta  Navius,  in  the  Comitinm 266 

of  Bassaeus  Rufus 216 

of  Cloelia,  in  the  Summa  Sacra  Via  (equestrian)    ...  201 

in  the  Comitium 266 

of  Constantine  (equestrian) 249 

from  the  Domus  Cilonis 540 

from  the  Domus  Philippi 346 

from  the  Domus  Svmmachi 347 


INDEXES  607 

Statuse  —  continued. 

of  Ennius  the  poet,  in  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios      .         .         .  326 

from  the  Horti  Aciliorum 425 

from  tlie  Horti  Caesaris 547 

from  tlie  Horti  Getse 548 

from  the  Horti  Lamiani 407 

from  the  Horti  Liciniani 401 

from  the  Horti  Luculliani        .......  419 

from  the  Horti  Maicenatiani 411 

from  the  Horti  Sallustiaiii 416 

from  tlie  Horti  Tauriaui 406 

from  the  Horti  Variaui 397 

of  Laocoou 366 

of  Marsyas,  iu  the  Forum 257 

of  Minerva 461 

by  the  Rostra 235 

of  Sallustia  Barbia  Orbiana 398 

of  Scipio  Africauus  ........  216 

from  the  Temple  of  Concordia 286 

from  the  Temple  of  Isis  in  the  Campus  Martius     .         .         .  500 

from  the  Temple  of  Isis  on  the  Oppian 358 

from  the  Temple  of  the  Sun 430 

from  the  Thermae  Antoninianai 538 

of  Tria  Fata     .         .         • 235,  240 

of  Victory,  in  the  Curia 263 

of  Vitrasius  PoUio 216 

of  Vortumnus,  at  the  beginnintc  of  the  Vicus  Tuscus       .        119,  248 
Streets,  see  Vici. 

Subura 388 

Summum  Choragium,  on  the  Oppian 387 

Tabernai,  shops  :  of  Galen 238 

Nova;  et  Veteres 233 

on  the  east  side  of  the  Forum 243,  259 

(Ad)  Tabulam  Valeriam 234,  262 

Tabularium,  record  office,  archives 293 

Tarentum,  a  mineral  spring  and  pool  on  the  Campus  Martius        .         .       446 

Tarquinii,  Corneto 343 

Templa,  temples  :  Antonini  et  Faustina  (Divi  Pii)         .         .  35,  216,  247 

Apollinis,  near  the  Circus  Flaniiuius 449 

Apollinis,  on  the  Palatine 140,  143 

Augusti,  on  the  Vicus  Tuscus  (Augusteum)  .  .  109,  119,  121-123 
Castoris  et  Pollucis  (Castorum)  .  .  124,  125,  150,  244,  256,  269 
Castoris,  in  the  Circus  Flaminius  ....'..  441 
Cereris,  in  the  Pagus  Triopius,  S.  Urbano  alia  Caffarella      .  47 

Cereris  Liberi  I>ibera'(iue,  iu  the  Forum  Boarium  .  516,  521 

Divi  Claudii,  Claudium,  on  the  Cielian  .  .  .  53,  54,  237,  350 
Concordiie,  on  the  Clivus  Capitolinus     ....  234,  286 

Cybelis  et  Fonnia 132-135 

Diana,  on  the  Aventine 142 

Eventus  Boni 35 


G08 


INDEXES 


Templa —  continued. 

Felicitatis,  on  the  site  of  the  Curia  Hostilia  Julia 
Fortunse,  hj  the  Collina  gate      .... 
Fortunae,  bj'  the  Forum  Boarium    ... 
Fortunae  Equestris,  hy  the  Circus  Flaminius 
Heliogabali,  on  the  Palatine  ... 

Herculis  Magni  Custodis,  by  the  Circus  Flaminius 
Herculis  Musarum,  in  the  portico  of  Philippus 
Herculis  Victoris  (invicti),  in  the  Forum  Boarium 
Isidis,  in  the  third  region         .... 
Isidis  et  Serapidis,  in  the  Campus  Martins 
Jani,  in  the  Forum  Holitorium 
Jani  Quadrifrontis       .... 
Jovis  Libertatis,  on  the  Aventine    . 
Jovis  Optimi  Maximi,  on  the  Capitoline 
Jovis  Propugnatoris,  on  the  Palatine 
Jovis  Statoris,  on  the  Summa  Nova  Via 
Jovis,  in  the  Portico  of  Octavia 

Divi  Julii 

Junonis,  in  the  portico  of  Octavia 
Junonis  Regin»,  on  the  Aventine 

Junonis  Sospitse 

Juturna,  near  the  Septa 

Divi  Marci 

Martis,  outside  the  Porta  Capena 

Martis,  in  the  Campus  Martius 

Martis  Ultoris,  in  the  Forum  Augustum 

MatidiiB 

Magnse  Matris,  on  the  Palatine  . 
Matris  Matuta?,  in  the  Forum  Boarium    . 
Minervae,  in  the  Forum  Transitorium 
Minerv£e,  on  the  Aventine 
Minervae,  in  the  Campus  Martius 

Minervag  Medicae 

Neptuni,  in  the  portico  of  the  Argonauts 

Pacis 

Penatium,  near  the  Summa  Sacra  Via 
Pietatis,  in  the  Forum  Holitorium  . 
Romuli,  son  of  Maxentius    . 
Sacrae  Urhis  (Cadastre)     .... 
Saturni,  on  the  Clivus  Capitolinus 
Solis,  on  the  Quirinal       .... 
Spei;  in  the  Forum  Holitorium    . 

Trajani 

Veneris  Erycina;  (Sallustianw)    . 
Veneris  Genetricis,  in  the  Forum  Julium 
Veneris  et  Romae  .... 

Vespasiani,  on  the  Clivus  Capitolinus     . 

Vest£e 

Vestse,  on  the  Palatine  .... 
Victoriae 


45, 


95, 


263 

.   417 

514 

.   442 

.  108,  159 

34,  455 
142 
455 

.  88,  358 
31,  500 
.  458,  512 
237,  252 
142 
33,  237,  296 
117,  126,  132,  135 
117,  171,  198 
467 
.   267 
467 
142,  541 
.  458,  512 
.   443 
505 
73,  78 
449 
.   220 
502 
117,  129,  133 
515 
.   308 
142 
.   461 
401 

35,  487 
.  88,  237 

.   158 

.  458,  511 

.   209 

205,  209,  211-215 

.   142,  257 

46,  99,  175,  428 

.   458,  511 

318 

.   414 

300 

165,  190 

.  257,  288 

GO,  124,  221-224 

.  140 

117,  125, 146 


INDEXES  609 

Tenement-houses,  see  Insulae. 

Terraniare,  di  Castellazzo,  di  Fontanellato 113 

Testaccio,  moute,  prati  di,  quartiere  del 36,  38 

Theatra,  theatres  :  Balbi 142,  493 

Marcelli 91,  491 

Pompeii  Magni 442,  459 

Thermae,  baths  :  Agrippinae 56,  175 

Alexandrinte  (of  Severus  Alexander)    .         .         .         .56,  486,  498 

Antoniuianae  (Caracalhe) 38,  46,  100,  533 

Constantinianse 44,  100 

Decianas 542 

Diocletian^ 44,  46,  100,  432 

Helenianai 398 

Neronianae 498 

Severianaj 49 

Surana; 56,  542 

TitiauiB 56,  363 

Trajanaj 45,  365 

near  the  Ecclesia  Pudentiana 390 

Tiber 1,  8-16,  30 

Fish  in 15 

Mouth  of 14 

Inundations  of 10-16 

Objects  of  value  in  the  bed  of 26 

Tiburtinus  Lapis,  Travertino 35 

Tombs,  see  Sepulcra;,  Columbaria,  Mausolea. 

Traiectus,  ferries 26 

Travertine 35 

(ad)  Tres  Fortunas,  name  of  district 417 

Treasurj',  see  ^Erarium  Sat  urn  i. 

Tria  Fata 240 

Trigarium 21 

Triumphal  arches,  see  Arcus. 

Trofei  di  Mario,  Cimbrum  Marii 57 

Tufa  (quarries  of) 32 

Tugurium  Faustuli 131 

Tullianum  (career) 48,  236,  285 

Turris  Mamilia  (name  of  place  in  the  Subura) 389 

Turris  Chartularia 171 

Umbilicus  Roma; 280 

Valles,  valleys  :  EgeriiB 47 

Murcia 30,  111 

Palatina 156 

Sallustiana 29 

del  Gelsomino 41 

dellaBalduina 41 

delle  Cave 41 

delle  Fdrnaci 41 

deir  Inferno         ..........  41 

Vaticanus  :  Ager 548 

Mons .  4,  548 


610  INDEXES 

Veil,  Capi-acorum,  Isola  Farnese 82,  112,  113 

Velabriim 518 

Velia 59,  111 

Vii«,  roads  :  Appia 320 

Ardeatina 82 

Aurelia 41 

Aiirelia  Nova 41 

Collatina  ■ 34,  48 

Cornelia 41 

Flaminia .         .         .     63, 87,  174 

Labicana 54,  56 

Latina 51,  53,  320 

Nomentana      .         .         .         .■ 75 

Ostiensis 81,  84 

Portueusis 33 

Praenestina 56 

Sacra 25,  188 

Salaria  Vetus,  Piucia,  Piuciana  .....  74,  111 

Triumphalis .         •         .  41,  68,  83 

Tusculana 54 

Valeria 49 

Vici,  streets  :  -iEsculeti 441 

Argiletum 29,  245 

Armilustri 541 

Caelimontana 53 

ad  Capita  Biibula  (Palatine) 138 

Curiarum,  ad  Curias  Veteres  ......     138,  167 

inter  Duos  Lueos         .........         345 

inter  Duos  Pontes 15 

Hercules  SuUanus       .........         vii 

Isidis  Patriciie vii 

ad  Janum 252 

Jugarius  .         .         .' 277 

Lata  (Via) 11,  88 

Longus  ...........      29 

Minerva  Medica vii 

Mercurii  Felicis  (?) 40 

Nova  Via  (infima,  sumnia) 118,127,150,227 

Patricii,  Clivus  Patricius 29,  390 

aPilaAlta 40 

Piscinje  Publicse 48 

Portae  Collinie 417 

Recta 441 

Sacra  Via 25,  188 

Sobrius  (Mercurii  Sobrii) 389 

ad  Spem  Veterem ■         .         .         48,  49,  53 

Subager  (sub-aggere) vii 

Subura  (maior,  minor,  clivus  :<uburanus)         ....     29,  388 

Tuscus 87.  119,  121,  126 

Velabruni        . 29 


INDEXES  611 

Vici  —  continued. 

Vestie 224 

Victoriae  Germauiciaiiie 132,  146 

Villse,  villas  :  of  M.  Aurelius,  Lorium,  Botlaccia 7 

of  Augustus  (Veliti-se) 169 

of  Hadrian,  at  Tibur,  Tivoli 7,  39,  45 

of  Lucius  Verus  (Via  Cloclia) 7 

Pliniana  (Laurentum) 7 

(^)uiuctiliorum  (Via  Appia) 7,  46 

of  Q.  Vocouius  Pollio 98,  143 

Albani  (Via  Salaria) 143 

Giidia  (Via  Flaminia) 174 

Mattel,  on  the  Caelian  47 

Villa  Publica 472 

Viminalis  Collis 1,  3 

Vivarium 75,  383 

Volkanal 287 

Vortumnus,  statue  of 119 

Ustrina  :  Antoninorum 508 

Augusti 463 

on  the  Appian  Way 35 

Walls,  see  Muri  Urbis. 
Wharves,  see  Portus. 


II.   The  Existing  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome  described 
IN  Chronological  Order 

I.   Recollections  of  Prehistoric  Times. 
Objects  discovered  in  prehistoric  tombs  of  Rome  and  the  Campagna, 
in  the  gravel-pits  at  Tor  di  Quinto,  etc.  (collezione  de  Rossi,  Museo  pre- 
istorico  ed  etnogratico  at  the  Collegio  Romano,  Palazzo  dei  Conserva- 

tori,  etc.) 112 

753  (April  21),  Rome  founded. 

Ara  maxima  Herculis,  in  the  Forum  Buarium 456 

Lupercal,  under  the  west  corner  of  the  Palatine 129 

Scalae  Caci,  at  the  west  corner  of  the  Palatine 129 

Stone  quarries  of  the  Palatine 132 

Tarentum,  at  the  north  end  of  the  Campus  Martins 446 

II.  Monuments  op-  the  Kings  (753-509  b.  c). 

Walls  and  gates  of  the  Palatine 59 

Casa  Romuli,  Tugurium  Faustuli 131 

The  Roma  Quadrata 59 

Hut  for  the  public  tire  (Temple  of  Vesta) 221 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator 198 

Chapels  of  the  Argives 129 

Walls  of  the  Capitoline        ..........      61 

Temple  of  .Janus 237,  252 


612  INDEXES 

Sublician  bridge,  by  Ancus  Marcius 16 

•J 
285 
296 
29 
233 
60 
515 
514 


Harbor  at  the  mouth  (Ostia)  of  the  Tiber 

Career  immineiis  foro 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  begun  by  Tarquinius  Priscus 

Cloaca  Maxima 

Tabernie  on  the  Forum 

Wall,  agger,  and  gates  of  Servius  Tullius 

Temple  of  Mater  Matuta  in  the  Forum  Boarium      .... 

Temple  of  Fortuna  in  the  Forum  Boarium  (about  557) 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  tinished  by  Tarquinius  Superbus  296 

Archaic  Tombs  in  the  Vigna  Cremaschi 321 

III.  Fkom  the  Expulsion  of  the  Kings  to  the  Age  of   Sulla  (509- 

138  B.  c). 

510            Campus  Martius  made  public 449 

509  (Sept.  13)  Temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  dedicated  by 

Horatius  Pulvillus 296 

497  (Sept.  17)  Temple  of  Saturn  (rebuilt  in  42  by  L.   Muuatius 

Plancus) 234,  291 

497-494    Temple  of  Ceres,  Bacchus,  and  Proserpina,  by  Aulus  Postu- 

mius     ...........  516 

482  (Jan.  27)  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  dedicated  hy  A.  Pos- 

tumius 234,  269 

455            First  tenement-houses  built 561 

445            First  mention  of  the  Prata  Flaminia 449 

438            First  mention  of  the  Rostra 278 

433-429     Temple  of  Apollo  in  the  Prata  Flaminia 449 

432            Villa  Publica 472 

394            Temple  of  Mater  Matuta  restored  bj'  Camillus    ....  515 

390            Cloaca  Maxima  covered  with  a  vault  by  Camillus  (?)    .         .  29 

Burning  of  Rome  bj^  the  Gauls.     Altar  of  Aius  Locutius  .         .  127 

389            The  city  rebuilt  after  its  destruction  by  the  Gauls  ...  222 

Temple  of  Vesta  repaired 222 

386            Substructures  of  the  Capitolium 296 

367  First  Temple  of  Concord  by  Camillus  (restored  in  121  by  L. 

Opimius) '   234,  286 

338  Rostra  decorated  with  beaks,  by  C.  Maenius    .         .         .         234,  278 

312            Via  Appia  munita  by  Appius  Claudius 321 

312  (?)       Tomb  of  the  Scipios 321 

Aqueduct  of  the  Aqua  Appia 48 

303            Temple  of  Concord  dedicated  in  the  Volkanal         ...  286 

297            Sidewalks  of  the  Via  Appia,  by  the  Ogulnii        ....  321 

296            Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator  repaired  by  M.  Antilius  Regulus     .  198 

294            Temple  of  Jupiter  Victor  on  the  Palatine 135 

293            Temple  of  Victory  on  the  Palatine,  by  L.  Postumius      .        .  125 

292            Via  Appia  paved 320 

272            Aqueduct  of  the  Anio  Vetus 50 

264            Tabula  Valeria  painted  on  the  side  wall  of  the  Curia  Hostilia  234 

260            The  Columna  Rostrata  or  Duilia 254 


INDEXES  613 

254  Temple  of  Hope  in  the  Forum  Holitorium  .         .        .     458,  511 

241  Temple  of  Vesta  burnt  and  rebuilt 222 

220  Circus  Flamiuius 441,  450 

215  Temple  of  Mater  Matuta  rebuilt 515 

214  Temple  of  Fortune  in  twe  Forum  Boarium  rebuilt       ,        .         .     514 

210  Kegia  rebuilt,  and  also  Temple  of  Vesta  .         .         .         219,  221 

197  Temple  of  Juno  Sospita  in  the  Forum  Holitorium      .         .     458,  512 

192  Temple  of  the  Great  Mothe-r  of  the  Gods  on  the  Palatine        .        133 

Shrine  dedicated  by  Cato  near  the  Temple  of  Victory        .         .     125 
191-181     Temple  of  Piety  in  the  Forum  Holitorium       .        .         .         458,  511 

188  Via  Appia  paved 320 

184  Basilica  Porcia,  by  M.  Porcius  Cato         ....         234,  235 

Temple  of  Venus  Erycina,  afterwards  Sallustiana  (dedicated  in 

182) 414 

181  Piers  of  ^milian  bridge  built  (arches  in  143)     ....       20 

179  Basilica  Fulvia,  by  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior  ....        234 

178  Temple  of  Juno  Regina  in  the  Portico  of  Metellus,  by  iEmilius 

Lepidus 467 

176  Porticus  Emilia  on  the  Emporium 44 

169  Basilica  Sempronia,  by  T.  Sempronius  Gracchus       .         .     234,  235 

148  Regia  rebuilt  after  a  fire 219 

147  Porticus  of  Q.  Caecilius  Metellus 467 

144  Aqueduct  of  the  Aqua  Marcia 49 

143  Arches  of  ^Emilian  bridge  finished 20 

Road  to  Etruria,  viaduct  at  S.  Crisogono,  etc.         ...  20 

IV.  The  Last  Century  of  the  Republic  (128-29  b.  c). 

125(?)    Altar  of  Lociitius  (?)  restored  by  C.  Sextius  Calvinus  .         .         .127 
Aqueduct  of  the  Aqua  Tepula,  by  Cwpio  and  Longinus     .         ,  51 

121        Fornix  Fabianus  on  the  Sacra  Via 215,  234 

Temple  of  Concord  rebuilt  by  L.  Opimius  ....         234,  286 

Basilica  Opimia,  by  L.  Opimius 234,  235 

117        Temple    of    Castor    and    Pollux    rebuilt    by    L.    Metellus    Dal- 

maticus "^     .         .         .         234,  269 

110        Porticus  Minucia  Vetus  near  the  Forum  Holitorium      .         .         .    458 

83        (July  6)  Capitolium  destroyed  by  tire 297 

80        Curia  Hostilia  repaired  by  Sulla 262 

78        Tabularium  begun  bj'  Lutatius  Catulus 293 

Basilica  Fulvia  ^Emilia  restored  by  M.  ^milius  Lepidus      .         .     234 

74        Tribunal  Aureliuni,  by  L.  Aurelius  Cotta 234 

62        Fabrician  bridge  built 17 

Temple  of  Minerva  in  the  Campus  Martius,  by  Pompey  the  Great    461 
54        Piano  regolatore  of  ^milius  PauUus  and  Julius  Cffisar      .         .        236 

Beginning  of  the  Forum  Julium 300 

Basilica  Julia  begun  (dedicated  b.  c.  46) 273 

Basilica  Emilia  begun  by  L.  ^milius  Paullus      ....    235 
52        Curia,  Basilica  Porcia  and  other  buildings  burnt  bj'  the  Clodians    236 

46        Amphitheatrum  of  C.  Scribonius  Curio 367 

Capitolium  rebuilt  by  Julius  Caesar 297 


614 


INDEXES 


46 


45 


44 


42 


36 

33 
32 
30 


Cestian  bridge  (?) 

Forum  Julium  tinished 

Temple  of  Veuus  Genetrix  dedicated . 
Constitution  of  Julius  Caesar  de  urbe  augenda 
First  Domus  Augiistana  on  the  Palatine     . 

Rostra  Julia 

Gardens  of  Caesar  opened  to  the  public 
Temple  of  Saturn  rebuilt  by  L.  Munatius  Plancus 
^des  Divi  Julii,  at  the  east  end  of  the  Forum    . 
Forum  Augustum  begun  .         .        .         ,        . 

Regia  restored  by  Domitius  Calvinus 
Library  of  Asinius  Pollio  on  the  Aventine     . 
Temple  of  Julius  Cassar  begun     .... 
Opera  Octaviae,  by  Augustus  .... 

Amphitheatrum  of  L.  Statilius  Taurus 


18 

.  300 

300 

.  471 

138 

.  236 

546 

236,  291 

189 

.  236 

137,  219 

.  541 

267 

.  467 

368,  443 


The  Monuments  of  the  Empire  (29  b.  C.-608  a.  d.). 


29 


28 

27 
23 
13 

12 

10 
9 


V.  Augustus  (29  b.  c.-14  a.  d.). 


Milliarium  Aureum 

(Aug.  18)  Temple  of  Julius  Caesar  dedicated 
(Aug.  28)  Curia  Julia  dedicated 
Arch  of  Augustus  near  Cissar's  Temple 
Domus  Augustana  enlarged      .... 

Temple  of  Apollo,  libraries,  shrine  of  Vesta 
Mausoleum  of  Augustus  .... 

Sublician  bridge  repaired     ..... 

Theatre  and  Crypta  of  Balbus 

Theatre  of  Marcellus  ...... 

House  of  Vestals  enlarged      .... 

Basilica  Julia  opened  to  the  public 
Solarium  or  Sun-Dial  in  the  Campus  Martius 

Capitolium  rebuilt 

Ara  Pacis  Augustie  in  the  Campus  Martius    . 

Shrine  of  Mercurius  Sobrius        .... 

Banks  of  the  Tiber  lined  with  terminal  stones 

Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  rebuilt  by  Tiberius  and  Drusus 

Map  of  Rome  finished  and  exhibited  in  the  Porticus  Vipsania 

Aqueduct  of  Marcia  repaired  and  volume  of  water  increased 

Temple  of  Cybele  on  the  Palatine  rebuilt  .... 

Forum  Augustum  finished 236,  302 


.    280 

236,  267 

.     263 

236 
.     138 

140 

.    461 

16 

.     493 

491 

.     140 

236,  273 

.     464 

296 
.     466 

389 

.       12 

236,  269 

214 
.       49 

132 


(Aug.  10)  Altar  of  Ops  in  the  Area  Saturni  .  .  .  236,  292 
(Jan.  16)  Temple  of  Concord  rebuilt  by  Tiberius  .  .  .  236,  286 
Columbaria  discovered  by  Campana  in  the  Vigna  Codini  .         328,  330 

Columbaria,  so-called  of  Pomponius  Hj'las 327 

Columbaria  hy  the  Porta  Maggiore 403 


Horti  Mfficenatis 410 


INDEXES  615 

VI.   Agrippa. 

B.    C. 

33         Aqueduct  of  Marcia  repaired           .......  49 

Aqueduct  of  Julia  built 52 

Famous  vEdileship  of  Agrippa  ;  streets,  drains  repaired         .     442,  443 

27        S«pta  Julia  finished 471 

Pantheon  and  Lakonikon         .......     474,  486 

26  Temple  of  Neptune  and  Portico  of  the  Argonauts      .         .         .  487 
19         (June  9)  The  Aqua  Virgo  reaches  Koine 53 

Therm*  Agrippina;      .........  476 

12         Lacus  Servilius 278 

7        (Aug.  1)  Porticus  Vipsania  on  the  Via  Flaminia          .         .         .  470 

Campus  Agrippae 471 

Porticus  Eventus  Boni  (?) 443,  445 

Gardens  near  the  baths            443 

Bridge  ou  the  Tiber 21,  443 

VII.  Tiberius  (a.  d.  14-37). 

A.  D 

14        Augusteun 121 

Domus  Tiberiana .  144 

Career  rebuilt  by  C.  Vibius  and  Cocceius  Nerva    ....  285 

Amphitheatrum  Castrense  (?)      .         •         ■         •         ■         •         •  -^85 

Temple  of  Janus  in  the  Forum  Holitorium  rebuilt         .         .         .  512 

16  Triumphal  Arch  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus         .          236,  282 

Horti  Lamiani  et  Maiani 406 

Horti  Sallustiani •  413 

17  Temple  of  Ceres,  Bacchus,  and  Proserpina  rebuilt         .         .         .  516 
23        Castra  Praetoria  near  the  Via  Nomentana 437 

27  Great  fire  on  the  C»lian 335 

VIII.  Caligula  (a.  d.  37-41). 

Horti  Agrippinse  in  the  Vatican  district 548 

Domus  Gaiana 150 

Domus  Gelotiana  purchased  and  added  to  the  Imijerial  estate    .  185 

38         Aqueducts  of  Claudia  and  Anio  Novus  begun        .         .         .         .54 

Augusteum  finished 1-1 

IX.   Claudius  (a.  d.  41-54). 

Horti  Lolliani 412 

Horti  Luculliani  improved  by  Valerius  Asiaticns       .         .         .  419 

Columna  Duilia  repaired  (?) 254 

52         (Aug.  1)  Aqueducts  of  Claudia  and  Anio  Novus  finished  54 

X.   Nero  (a.  d.  54-68). 

59        Reservoir  of  the  Aqua  Claudia  on  the  C*lian        ....  351 

65        (July)  The  great  fire  of  Nero 444 

65-68  Domus  Aurea '^58 

Macellum  on  the  Cselian  (?) 353 

■^       Colossus  of  bronze  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Domus  Aurea      .        .  190 


616  INDEXES 

Buildings  of  the  Flavians  (a.  d.  69-96). 

XI.   Vespasian  (a.  d,  69-79). 

(39)-69  Temple   of   Claudius  (begun    by   Agrippina)    finished   by   Ves- 
pasian        351 

74  Capitolium  rebuilt  \)\  Vespasian     .                 297 

75  Forum  and  Templum  Pacis 201 

78  Templum  Sacraj  Urbis,  archives  of  the  Cadastre,  by  Vespasian  .  211 

XII.   Titus  (a.  d.  79-81). 

79  Aqueduct  of  Marcia  repaired .  49 

80  Amphitheatrum  Flavium  inaugurated 367 

Therm*  Titian* ,363 

Great  fire  of  Titus 444 

Domus  Titi  Imperatoris 366 

XIII.    DOMITIAN   (a.  d.  81-96). 

82        Capitolium  rebuilt 297 

85  (about)  Doraus  Augustana  rebuilt 140 

OiKia  Ao/neriai/oi),  ^des  Imperatoriffi,  iEdes  Publico        .         .         .  156 

Horti  /Edonea 165 

So-called  Stadium            172 

Temple  of  Vespasian  and  Titus 288 

Arch  of  Titus  on  the  Summa  Sacra  Via 201 

Forum  Transitorium  begun  (finished  b^'  Nerva)          .         .         .  307 

Temple  of  Janus  rebuilt 237 

Curia  Julia  repaired 237 

GriBCOstasis  repaired 237 

Amphitheatrum  finished 370 

Horrea  Piperataria  on  the  Sacra  Via 202 

97  (?)  Meta  Sudans  rebuilt 190 

Augusteum  rebuilt 121 

Regia  rebuilt 219 

Atrium  Vest*  rebuilt 237 

Equestrian  statue  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum            ...  258 

[Horti  Aciliani  on  the  Pincian] 419 

Pantheon  and  Baths  of  Agrippa  rebuilt 476 

Stadium 496 

Odeum 496 

Temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis  in  the  Campus  Martins       .         .         .  500 

XIV.   Trajan  (a.  d.  98-117). 

109        Aqueduct  of  the  Aqua  Traiana 56 

Thermae  Suranae  on  the  Aventine 542 

112-114  Forum  Traian urn .310 

]13        Columna  Traiana 317 

117        Triumphal  Arch  at  the  entrance  to  the  Forum    ....  312 

Therm*  Traian* 365 

Cell*  Viuari*  Nova  et  Arruntiana,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  31 


INDEXES 


617 


XV.   Hadrian  (a.  d.  117-138). 

120-124  Pantheon  and  Baths  of  Agrippa  rebuilt    .....  476 

121        Bronze  colossus  of  Nero  (of  the  sun)  removed      ....  190 

131-135  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome 194 

136        iElian  bridge , 22 

Temple  of  Neptune  rebuilt 487 

Temple  of  Matidia  and  Marciana 502 

Mausoleum 551 

XVI.  Buildings  of  the  Antonines  (a.  d.  138-193). 

(121)      Domus  Vectiliana 344 

Domus  Anniorum 344 

Arch  on  the  Via  Flaminia  (?) 504 

134  (?)  Porticus  Margaritaria 209 

139        Mausoleum  of  Hadrian  linished 551 

Sublician  bridge  repaired 16 

141        Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina 216 

After  161  Column  of  Antoninus,  Ustrinum  and  altar     ....  508 

176  (about)  Column  of  Marcus  Aurelius 505 

After  180  Temple  of  Marcus  Aurelius 505 

191        Fire  of  Commodus 222 

193        House  of  Adrastus,  keeper  of  the  (k)lumn  of  j\I.  Aurelius         .  507 

XVH.   Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla  (a.  d.  193-217). 

193-211  The  whole  quarters  devastated  by  the  fire  of  Commodus  re- 
built and  embellished  ;  unity  of  plan  and  decoration  given  to 
the  Imperial  palace. 

195-203  So-called  Stadium  repaired 172 

196        Volume  of  Aqua  Marcia  increased  bj'  Severus  (Marcia  Severi- 

ana  ?)  (TherniK  Severiante) 49 

Lateran  Palace  restored 339 

Castra  Nova  Equitum  Singularium 336 

200  Temple  of  Cybele  on  the  Palatine  repaired         ....  132 

201  The  Arcus  CcBlimontani  rebuilt  — Aqueduct  of  the  Palatine        53,  184 

202  Pantheon  repaired 476 

Amphitheatrum  Castrense 385 

203  Arch  of  Severus  near  the  Rostra 282 

Opera  Octaviae  restored 470 

Septizonium,  BalneiB  annexed  to  the  Imperial  palace,  etc.          .  181 

204  Arch  in  the  Forum  Boarium 518 

204  (about)  Palace  of  Fabius  Cilo 540 

205-210  Barracks  of  the  seven  cohorts  of  Vigiles 338 

Temple  of  Vesta  rebuilt  by  Julia  Domna 221 

Atrium  Vest*  rebuilt       .  ' 40,  226 

211        Templum  Sacras  Urbis  restored 212 

212,  213  Volume  of  Marcia  increased  by  Caracalla  (Marcia  Antoniniana)  49 

212-216  Baths  of  Caracalla  on  the  Via  Nova 533 

215        The  Escubitorium  of  the  Vigiles  in  the  Transtiberine  region    .  544 

Gardens  of  Geta  on  the  Janiculum 548 


618  INDEXES 

XVIII.  From  Sevekus  and  Cakacalla  to  Carinus  (a.  d.  217-283). 

218-222  Horti  Variani  (Horti  Spei  Veteris) .395 

222-2.35  Lateraii  Palace  repaired  by  Julia  Mammea 339 

223        Amphitheatrum  Flaviiim  restored  by  Severus  Alexander          .  371 

Shrine  of  Vicus  Vesta? 224 

Forum  Transitorium  adorned  with  statues          ....  309 

226         Aqua  Alexandrina 56 

228        Stadium  repaired  and  Therniiv,  built  by  Severus  Alexander       497,  498 

238-244  Arch  of  Gordianus  III.  near  the  Praetorian  Camp     .         .         .  439 

244-249  Domus  Philippi  on  the  Cailian 346 

250        Amphitheatrum  Flavium  repaired  by  (Traianus)  Decius    .         .  371 

253-268  Horti  Liciniani  on  the  Esquiline 428 

Arch  of  Gallienus  at  the  Esquiline  gate 420 

267-274  Domus  Tetricorum 344 

270-275  Porticus  Milliariensis,  by  Aurelian 413 

Temple  of  the  Sun  on  the  Quirinal 428 

280        ^limilian  bridge  repaired  by  Probus 20 

283        Great  fire  of  Carinus 2-39 

XIX.    Diocletian  (A.  D.  284-305). 

Basilica  .Julia  repaired 

Grsecostasis  repaired 

Curia  rebuilt  under  the  name  of  Senatus 

Forum  .Julium  repaired  I 

Monumental  columns  on  the  Sacra  Via       J 

.305   306  Volume  of  Marcia  increased  by  Diocletian  (Marcia  .Jovia)  .         .  50 

.306,  .July  24  Thermje  Diocletianae  opened 432 

XX.    Maxentius  (A.  D.  306-312). 

307-312  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome  rebuilt 194 

309        Heroon  Romuli  on  the  Sacra  Via 209 

310-312  Basilica  Nova  (of  Constantine) 201 

XXI.   Constantine  (a.  d.  311-337). 

313        Lateran  Palace  transformed  into  a  patriarchium         .  339 
Part  of  the  Castra  Equitum  Singularium  transformed  into  the 

Basilica  Salvatoris  (S.  John  Lateran) 340 

Hall  of  Sessorian  Palace  transformed  into  the  "Hierusalem  "    .  397 

Thernife  Helenianie  rebuilt      ........  398 

315        Triumphal  Arch  of  Constantine 191 

Meta  Sudans  repaired  (?) 191 

Four-faced  arch  in  the  Forum  Boarium  (?)         .         .         .         .  518 

.334        Caballus  Constantini  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum           .         .         .  258 

XXII.   From  Constantine  to  Phocas  (a.  d.  337-608). 

339-341  Sacra  Via  embellished  by  Fabius  Titianus         ....  206 

353-354  Comitium  decorated  with  statues 266 


239 


inHexes  619 

360-363  House  of  SS.  John  and  Paul  on  the  Clivus  Scauri    .         .         .  348 

365-370  Cestian  bridge  restored   hj  L.  Aurelius  Avianius  Symniachus    .  18 

366,  367  Pons  Valentinianus  rebuilt 24 

367        Porticus  Consentium  rebuilt  bj'  Vettius  Agorius  Prsetextatus      .  292 

Horti  Vettiani  on  the  Esquiline 405 

373-394  Palace  of  L.  Aurelius  Avianius  Sj-mmachus  on  the  Caelian          .  346 

379-383  Offices  or  shops  at  the  east  end  of  the  Roman  Forum         .         .  259 

384-397  The  Ecclesia  Pudentiana  enlarged  by  Siricius       ....  391 

386        Domus  Valeriorum  on  the  Cfelian 345 

396-403  Vicus  Patricii  improved  by  Valerius  Messalla       ....  391 

400  (about)  Aqueduct  of  Marcia  restored  by  Arcadius  and  Honorius  .  50 
402  Walls  restored,  Portae  Appia,  Latina,  Portuensis,  etc.,  rebuilt  72,  73 
405-410  Titulus  Byzanti    or  Pammachii  (SS.  John  and  Paul)    .         .         .348 

405        Monuments  of  the  Gothic  war  in  the  Forum       ....  259 

Arch  of  Arcadius,  Honorius,  and  Theodosius         ....  260 

414         Thermae  Decianae  repaired 542 

420  (about)  Xenodochium  a  Valeriis  on  the  Caelian 345 

422        Earthquake  described  by  Paul  the  Deacon          ....  372 

425        Church  of  S.  Sabina      ' 541 

425-450  Amphitheatrum  Flavium  repaired  by  Theodosius  H.   and  Va- 

lentinian  HI 372 

438         Amphitheatrum  Flavium  repaired  by  Flavins  Paulus    .         .         .  372 

455        Capitolium  plundered  bj'  the  Vandals 298 

468-482  Macellum    (?)    dedicated   to    S.    Stefano   (rotondo)  by  Sinipli- 

cius 355 

500  (about)  Great  works  undertaken  by  King  Theodoric  .  .  .  239 
508        Amphitheatrum    Flavium   repaired    by   Decius    Venantius   Ba- 

silius             ...........  372 

526-530  Templum  Sacrae  Urbis  dedicated  to  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damianus 

by  Felix  IV.    .         . 205,  211 

575        House  of  Gregory  the  Great  transformed  into  a  monastery       .  349 

608,  Aug.  1  Column  of  Phocas,  by  Zmaragdus 241,  260 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASSACHUSETTS,  U.   S.   A. 

ELECTROTVPED  AND   PRINTED   BY 

H.  O.   HOUGHTON  AND  CO. 


364. 


LANCIANI  R.  The  ruins  and  excavations  ot  ancient  Kome.  London, 
1897.  In-8.,  XXII-632  pp.,  216  fig.  e  piante  moke  delle  quali  in  tav. 
f.  t.  ripiegate.  Tela  edit.  Rarissimo.  .     .     _      .    ^^-^^Q 


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